American online social media Facebook has refused to take down the content of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups on its platform, reports British newspaper the Independent. Citing a Counter Extremism Project report, the same source indicates that Facebook has allowed these anti-Islam, homophobic and racist pages to freely publish content that was reported by several users for being «offensive». Responding to reports, the social media platform said that these groups did not violate its «community standards» and told users to «unfollow pages if they found them offensive». These pages are accused of spreading hatred and propaganda that «included racist and homophobic statements». The Independent indicates that some of these groups called non-whites «vermin» and gay people «degenerates», showing «images of Adolf Hitler and fascist symbols». Some of these pages were suspected of inspiring hate assaults and crimes, such as the New Zealand terror attack, which killed 50 people and injured 50 others. For the record, the Australian terrorist who opened fire on Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, published days after the attack a racist and Islamophobic manifesto on social media. In his manifesto, the self-declared white supremacist, explained why he committed the attacks.
