Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has blacklisted Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for repeated violations of policies against dangerous individuals and organizations. The permanent suspension followed Khamenei’s call to “wipe Israel off the map.”
of new york post report Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has permanently banned Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from its platform. The company said the move was taken in response to Khamenei’s repeated calls to “wipe Israel off the map” and calling Israel a “cancerous tumor” that will be “eradicated and destroyed.” .
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified at a joint hearing of the Commerce and Judiciary Committees at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Khamenei’s Farsi and English Instagram accounts (combined with more than 5 million followers) and official Facebook page were removed for violating Mehta’s rules against dangerous individuals and organizations. Mehta said Khamenei’s comments amounted to hate speech that justified the ban.
Iran’s autocrat has long used inflammatory language against Israel, which Iran considers its biggest enemy. In October 2022, following attacks by Israel and Hamas that left more than 1,000 people dead, Ayatollah Khamenei tweeted: “The cancer of the usurper Zionist regime will be eradicated by the hands of the Palestinian people and resistance forces across the region. Dew,” he posted.
Twitter has not banned Khamenei, but pro-Israel groups are lobbying the social media platform to remove his account following repeated calls for violence. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are all blocked in Iran, but Khamenei maintained accounts on these platforms to reach an international audience.
Mr. Mehta’s removal of Khamenei came years after he first advocated the destruction of Israel. Experts say social media companies are now becoming more proactive in enforcing policies against state-sponsored hate speech, but this case leaves them wondering why they didn’t act sooner. There is. Khamenei’s ouster has been hailed by Israeli officials and Jewish groups as a long-overdue step to curb dangerous propaganda.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship issues.
