Facebook announced a ban on Tuesday on accounts tied to an anti-government network, Boogaloo, denouncing it as “dangerous.”
“For months, we have removed boogaloo content when there is a clear connection to violence or a credible threat to public safety, and today’s designation will mean we remove more content going forward, including Facebook Groups and Pages,” Facebook said.
NBC News describes Boogaloo as a “heavily armed, mostly conservative libertarian militia movement” with “extreme anti-government views that advocate for a violent uprising targeting mostly law enforcement.”
The new ban will prohibit Boogaloo content from having a presence on the social media platform and will also remove content that praises, supports, or represents the network.
Facebook said it removed 220 accounts from the platform, 95 Instagram accounts, 28 pages, and 106 groups that are comprised of the network. In addition to the Boogaloo pages, Facebook removed another 400 additional groups and 100 other pages that violate its Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy.
Several members tied to the Boogaloo movement have been arrested in recent months for incidents such as planning terror attacks during the Black Lives Matter protests and the murder of law enforcement officers.
Facebook’s move comes as the company faces criticism over its policies related to policing content about the Black Lives Matter movement and its refusal to issue fact checks for claims made by politicians. An advertising boycott of Facebook has been spearheaded by several advertisers, including Starbucks, Verizon, and Ford.
