Facebook finally banned pages belonging to the Proud Boys, the far-right men’ s group founded by Gavin McInnes. Facebook banned pages and groups associated with the Proud Boys due to “hate speech” from their “hate organization.” The group is also banned from Instagram, which Facebook owns.
The Proud Boys, who describe themselves as “Western chauvinists,” are decidedly against “political correctness” and “white guilt.” Members recently came under fire after a group of them brutally attacked several anti-fascism protestors outside of an event where their leader, McInnes, spoke in Manhattan.
A Facebook spokesperson talked to Business Insider about the decision, saying:
“Our team continues to study trends in organized hate and hate speech and works with partners to better understand hate organizations as they evolve.
We ban these organizations and individuals from our platforms and also remove all praise and support when we become aware of it.
We will continue to review content, pages, and people that violate our policies, take action against hate speech and hate organizations to help keep our community safe.”
Facebook (and Instagram) recently removed McInnes himself from their platforms.
In an email, McInnes said the Facebook ban will likely affect the group’s ability to recruit new members. On Wednesday, he suggested the “left” is hyping up “hysteria” using “fake news and censorship” as we approach the midterms, according to ABC News.
Twitter banned the Proud Boys (and McInnes) in August, before the second “Unite the Right” rally was held in Charlottesville, Virginia.
While it’s entirely possible new pages will crop up, the lesser chance for white nationalist memes to spread around social media, the better.
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