Snoop Dogg rushed to the defense of Louis Farrakhan after the Nation of Islam leader was booted from Facebook, declaring that, “I stand with him” and that all he did was “tell the truth.”
The rapper, who joined the Nation of Islam in 2009, blasted the Thursday decision by Facebook to remove Mr. Farrakhan’s account along with others that “promote or engage in violence and hate, regard less of ideology.”
“So Facebook and Instagram just banned Minister Louis Farrakhan,” said Snoop Dogg in an Instagram post. “I want to know for what. All he ever do was tell the truth. But y’all going to ban him now.”
He added, “For putting truth out there? I stand with him. Ban me, m—————-. Ban me,” and urged supporters to take action on social media.
In another Instagram message, Snoop Dogg said, “Post your favorite Minister Farrakhan video on your Facebook or Instagram page. Show some love to a real brother. Post it right now.”
Mr. Farrakhan, as well as right-wing personalities Alex Jones, Laura Loomer, Paul Joseph Watson and Milo Yiannopoulos, was banned as “dangerous” from both Facebook and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” said the Facebook statement. “The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.”
The platform forbids “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” as part of its Community Standards, a policy that has been both praised as a check on violence and extremism as well as decried as a method of censoring unpopular views.
Mr. Farrakhan had no immediate public comment on Twitter, which did not remove his account, but the Nation of Islam announced the decision on its Facebook page and asked followers to sign up for emails.
“The official Facebook and Instagram pages of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan have been removed by Facebook, Inc.,” said the Nation of Islam in a post. “We invite you and others to join our Nation of Islam email list to stay connected with Movement & Action!”
The Anti-Defamation League has described Mr. Farrakhan as “America’s leading anti-Semite,” but the Chicago-based minister has long enjoyed support on the left, appearing in the past with members of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as Women’s March leaders.
He spoke at last year’s funeral for Aretha Franklin, standing alongside civil-rights leaders Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and former President Bill Clinton, and last month at the funeral of rapper Nipsey Hussle.
Snoop Dogg To Followers: ’Post Your Favorite Farrakhan Video’ https://t.co/plLVq4l4O4
— NewsBusters (@newsbusters) May 3, 2019
Supporters launched the hashtag #WeAreFarrakhan and accused Facebook of censorship, while the American Jewish Committee praised the decision to remove him from the platforms.
“We welcome Facebook’s decision to ban a number of extremists including Louis Farrakhan and Alex Jones,” said the AJC in a statement. “They may have the right to spread vile hatred but Facebook has the right (and responsibility) to say ‘not on our platform.’”
Multiple publications, including the Washington Post, CNN and New York Times, initially described Mr. Farrakhan as a “far right” and “right wing,” but many of those later changed that description after pushback.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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