Facebook bans around 200 accounts linked to white supremacist groups for inciting violence

Social media giant Facebook recently removed over 200 accounts with links to white supremacy groups in the United States.

People using these accounts encouraged people to join the protests across the country, but many asked them to carry weapons and firearms to the protests.

Facebook found that these accounts, both on Instagram and the parent company, were affiliated to Proud Boys and American Guard, two white supremacy hate groups that are already banned on the platforms.

Reportedly, the company had been monitoring these accounts for a while but took the shot when they saw how the accounts were being manipulated to incite violence in the protests.

"We saw that these groups were planning to rally supporters and members to physically go to the protests and in some cases were preparing to go with weapons," said Brian Fishman, Facebook's director of counterterrorism and dangerous organizations policy, in a statement.

“Approximately”, 190 accounts were removed. No other detail was made public, like the location of the people sharing the messages or of the target audience.

Facebook prohibits hate speech on its platforms, which is why it had banned these organisations on its platforms earlier. The company further said that they will continue to monitor and prevent such accounts to resurge.

Many people linked to white supremacy groups were removed from Facebook earlier this week, after it was found that they were posing to be ANTIFA members.

The murder of George Floyd in the United States has triggered protests not only in the country, but across the world. Protesters are demanding justice for Floyd while calling for an end to systemic racism which targets black people across the globe.

The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo recently said that state legislators are coming up with an overhaul of criminal justice, which could pave the way for nationwide reform.

In the video that went viral after Floyd’s death, the officer was seen kneeling on the man for almost nine minutes, even when he was repeatedly telling the officer about his inability to breathe. It was only when the ambulance arrived that the officer retracted his knee from the neck. An hour later, Floyd was dead.