Tommy Robinson banned from Facebook and Instagram.
Under the ban, his official Facebook page will be deleted. He will be preemptively barred from any future attempts to log into the social media platform.
Robinson is already barred from using Twitter. So after today’s ban he will only have YouTube as the only major online platform for him to reach a large audience. His official Facebook page had more than 1 million followers and likes.
Nick Lowles, chief executive of HOPE not hate, said: “Stephen Lennon is a far-right thug who uses his platform to bully, abuse and stir up division, monetising his hatred to earn huge sums while hiding behind a fake free speech mantle.
“Lennon has a long record of abuse towards minorities such as Muslims, so we welcome today’s decision as well as Facebook’s continued actions in cleaning up their platform.”
Last month Facebook warned Robinson that he was on his last warning.It came after a post from Robinson calling on people to terrorise and behead those who follow the Qur’an. If he ignored Facebook’s wishes and kept breaking the social media platform’s hate speech guidelines, he would be banned.
In a statement, Facebook said: ‘We want Facebook to be a place where you can express yourself freely and share openly with friends and family. At the same time, when people come to Facebook we always want them to feel welcome and safe.
‘This is something we take incredibly seriously. So when ideas and opinions cross the line and amount to hate speech that may create an environment of intimidation and exclusion for certain groups in society – in some cases with potentially dangerous offline implications – we take action.
‘Our public Community Standards state this sort of speech is not acceptable on Facebook – and when we become aware of it, we remove it as quickly as we can.
‘Our rules also make clear that individuals and organisations that are engaged in ‘organised hate’ are not allowed on the platform, and that praise or support for these figures and groups is also banned. This is true regardless of the ideology they espouse.
‘Tommy Robinson’s Facebook Page has repeatedly broken these standards, posting material that uses dehumanising language and calls for violence targeted at Muslims.
‘He has also behaved in ways that violate our policies around organised hate. As a result, in accordance with our policies, we have removed Tommy Robinson’s official Facebook Page and Instagram profile.’
Robinson was recently appointed an adviser to the UKIP which led to several members quitting the party in protest.
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