Facebook is removing a network of accounts linked to the violent ‘boogaloo’ movement – By Casey Newton (The Verge) / June 30 2020
The company removed hundreds of accounts over fears they are planning real-world violence
Facebook has removed a network of anti-government accounts associated with the fringe “boogaloo” movement after designating the group as a dangerous organization, the company said. The network, which represents a subset of the broader movement, actively planned violence, Facebook said, though it declined to share additional details, saying it did not want to interfere with ongoing law enforcement investigations.
On Tuesday afternoon, the company removed:
- 220 Facebook accounts
- 95 Instagram accounts
- 28 Facebook pages
- 106 Facebook groups
In addition, Facebook removed more than 400 other groups and 100 other pages that were “hosting similar content as the violent network but were maintained by accounts outside of it.” As of today, the boogaloo network will fall under Facebook’s policy for Dangerous Individuals and Organizations, which bans posts “praising, supporting, or representing it.”
The boogaloo movement has drawn more scrutiny in recent weeks after a series of violent incidents linked to the movement’s followers. An Air Force staff sergeant was charged with the murder of a Federal Protective Service officer and a Santa Cruz sheriff’s sergeant earlier this month, and authorities have said they found paraphernalia connected with the boogaloo movement in the suspect’s van. This month in Las Vegas, three men were indicted “for allegedly conspiring to destroy government and private property during protests in that city on May 30, and for allegedly possessing Molotov cocktails,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Continue to article: https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/30/21308572/facebook-boogaloo-group-network-removal-ban-civil-war-violence
