Facebook and Instagram ban Proud Boys groups for 'organised hate'

Social media giants as private companies, can choose what content to allow.

Facebook has banned several groups associated with the far-right political group known as the “Proud Boys”, including one with more than 20,000 members.

The social media site said it considers the movement represents hate groups.

On their website, the "Proud Boys" call themselves “Western chauvinists who refuse to apologise for creating the modern world.” They claim that they are anti-SJW (Social Justice Warriors) but not alt-right.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy organisation specialising in civil rights and public interest litigation has called them a designated hate group.

Earlier this month, a street fight broke out between alleged Antifa (anit-fascist) and Proud Boys members in New York City.

Social media platforms have terms of service and community standards, and as private companies, they are free to ban pages, groups, and accounts that violate their rules.

This is part of a trend of “deplatforming,” or “no-platform,” which means that even if a user is exhibiting free speech which a government can’t legally censor, a website like Facebook or Twitter can take them off the website.

While Facebook moderators sometimes struggle to decide what posts and pages to take down, “hate speech” and “organised hate” are not allowed on the social media site.

A spokesperson told Business Insider that both Proud Boys groups and Mr McInnes have been banned from both Instagram and Facebook.