All Sections

View and post jobs in journalism
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Editor's Pick
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Broadcast Journalism
    • Digital Journalism
    • Magazines
    • Media Law
    • National Newspapers
    • People
      • Appointments
      • Obituaries
    • Regional Newspapers
  • Press Gazette Podcast
  • British Journalism Awards
  • Press Gazette Email Newsletter

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Editorial standards
  • About/Contacts
  • Advertise/Partnerships
  • Privacy Policy
Close
[mashshare]
Skip to content
  • Editorial standards
  • About/Contacts
  • Advertise/Partnerships
  • Privacy Policy
All sections

Search

Search pressgazette.co.uk

Close

Press Gazette

Subscribe to our email newsletter Journalism email newsletter
  • News
  • Comment
  • Data
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Marketing
  • Awards
  • Jobs
  • Partners

Menu

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • National Newspapers
  • Regional Newspapers
  • Digital Journalism
  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Media Law
  • Magazines
  • Wires and Agencies
  • Obituaries
  • News
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Jobs
  • British Journalism Awards

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
Close
BBC Scotland's The Nine aims to cover all 'shades of opinion' on Brexit and deliver the news 'through Scotland's eyes'
Critics herald 'promising start' for new BBC Scotland nightly news programme The Nine
February 26, 2019
  • Digital Journalism
  •    
  • News
  •    
  • Social media
  •    

Facebook removes Tommy Robinson's page and Instagram profile over alleged 'hate speech'

By Freddy Mayhew Twitter

Share this

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
Comments
3

Right-wing political activist Tommy Robinson has been banned from Facebook and Instagram, making it the latest social network to take action against the English Defence League founder.

In a blog post published today, Facebook claimed Robinson’s (aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) Facebook page, which had about 1m likes, had “repeatedly” broken its community standards on “hate speech”.

Timeline

  • March 29, 2021

    Daily Mash hit by Facebook anti-misinformation algorithms as publisher Digitalbox reduces losses

  • March 24, 2021

    Reading news is not private: How news media websites help Big Tech to track you

  • March 24, 2021

    Reporters Without Borders files Facebook lawsuit over 'large-scale proliferation' of false information and hate speech

It said its rules “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.

“This is not a decision we take lightly, but individuals and organizations that attack others on the basis of who they are have no place on Facebook or Instagram.”

The action comes ahead of a Government White Paper on online harms, expected to be published in the spring, and follows the UK’s “fake news” inquiry’s final report, which took aim at the tech giant.

MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee recommended establishing a new code of ethics for social media companies – setting out what constitutes harmful content – to be overseen by a regulator.

Labour deputy leader and Shadow Culture Secretary Tom Watson said on Twitter he welcomed Facebook’s decision to remove pages under their “organised hate” policy, but said it had come “far too late”.

He accused Robinson of “hate-spewing, anti-Islamist tirades” which “were given a platform by Facebook”.

Watson added: “The public interest demands an end to laissez-faire regulation, so we can create a place where reasonable debate can take place without trolls, extremists and racist thugs seeking to damage and undermine society.

“That requires an independent social media regulator with teeth.”

Youtube suspended adverts on Robinson’s account in January and in March last year he was permanently banned from Twitter. The BBC reported that Robinson was judged to have breached Twitter’s “hateful conduct” policy.

Picture: Reuters/Andrew Winning

SIGN UP HERE FOR

MEDIA MONITOR

Press Gazette's weekly email providing strategic insight into the future of the media

Subscribe

Related Stories

  • Facebook advertising boycott: Campaign harming brand but not bottom line of media giant
  • Cash for conspiracies: How David Icke, 'alternative' media and tech giants make money from coronavirus conspiracies
  • 'Could that intro get any worse?': Journalists weigh in on first episode of BBC One drama Press
  • There's nothing to see here: Met Police chief ignores nearly 50 questions about use of RIPA to spy on journalists

Explore these topics

  • Facebook
Browse, search and add journalism jobs
Comments

3 thoughts on “Facebook removes Tommy Robinson's page and Instagram profile over alleged 'hate speech'”

  1. j colwill says:
    February 27, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    This is happening because he showed up panorama and the BBC as creating a false narrative . Making a documentary that you claim is unbiased with someone’s political enemy’s behind the scenes and acting to set them up is not unbiased . why did the BBC bury the story that came out on a BBC interview with the three girls chief prosecutor that the home office were telling police in 2008 not to investigate grooming because the girls were child prostitutes, no uk media has picked up that story . yet the big story in Rotherham etc was why the police were acting the way they did and how far up the cover up went .

    Reply
  2. Andrew Thomas says:
    February 27, 2019 at 9:34 am

    I would like to see this pitiful excuse for a human being and his vile opinions being starved of the oxygen of publicity and, ideally, any form of oxygen.

    Reply
1 2

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More content

Post a job on Press Gazette

Most Popular

  1. ITV News veteran Alastair Stewart joins GB News: In-depth briefing on new channel
  2. The New European Brexit Britain The New European won't be for 'metropolitan elite' as new owner shares vision for title in Brexit Britain
  3. Sentiment analysis reveals consistently negative coverage of Brexit and EU in UK press
  4. US newspaper circulations after Covid-19 US newspaper circulations: How Covid-19 hit sales of America's largest daily print titles
  5. Sara Sorcher is the Washington Post's new London hub editor Washington Post plans to use new London hub to accelerate international subscription growth

Latest Jobs

  • Media Officer, Deliberate PR
  • CROPPED New Statesman Media Group logo New Statesman podcast producer
  • CROPPED New Statesman Media Group logo Editor, sustainable asset management
Critics herald 'promising start' for new BBC Scotland nightly news programme The Nine

© copyright 2021 Press Gazette Ltd. Made in Taiwan.