Facebook has banned a collection of groups and leaders who have 'threatened or engaged in bloodshed'. According to a report published in The Intercept, the list contains names of thousands of people and groups who've been banned by the site under the title of Dangerous Individuals and Organisations (DIO). Facebood sourced these names from a sanctions list that the United States Treasury Department controls.
"I obtained Facebook's secret list of banned dangerous individuals and organizations, which can't be freely discussed on the company's platforms, and today we're publishing it in full," tweeted Sam Biddlem, the author of the The Intercept report.
According to the leaked list, 53 percent are those who linked to 'terrorism,' 23 percent are in the category of 'militarised social movements,' and 17 percent belong to hate groups.
Some of the black listed are from far right groups like the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party, The Daily Stormer, the Proud Boys, and the English Defence League. Left wing Antifa, groups tied to the QAnon conspiracy theory have also come under the list.
The list has names of dead persons like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Mengele. People who are often associated with hate groups, including Klansman David Duke, Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, Gavin McInnes of the Proud Boys, Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League figure in the list.
The names on the list have been selected according to their severity in terms of restricting speech.
"The heavily restricted "Terrorism" category, which makes up over 50% of the entire list, is almost all of Muslim, South Asian, and Middle Eastern ppl and orgs. Armed right-wing militias in the US are placed in a far more permissive 3rd tier, subject to the lightest restrictions," Biddlem said in his tweet.
Tier 1 contains groups and criminals who engage in 'organizing or advocating for violence against civilians' and hate as 'repeatedly dehumanizing or advocating for harm against' people with protected characteristics. Black and Latino street gangs and drug cartels are categosied in this. Terrorists of Middle East, South Asian groups and individuals are also among them. Users have been strictly banned from expressing support or praising anyone or anything on Tier 1.
Tier 2 is for violent armed rebels who target established governments. One can make supportive statements for the nonviolent actions of these groups and people but any kind of substantive support for the groups themselves are not allowed by Facebook.
Nonviolent groups that consistently use hate speech, and people who might turn violent are categosed under Tier 3. However users can discuss anyone or anything on Tier 3.
