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PAKISTAN-RELIGION-FACEBOOK
Facebook removes profile frame targeting religious minority
ISLAMABAD, July 31, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Facebook said Wednesday it has
removed a profile frame targeting Pakistan’s long-persecuted Ahmadi community
as the media giant continues to grapple with the proliferation of hate speech
on the social network.
Profile frames are filters Facebook users can add to their pictures that
often promote a cause, celebrate a holiday, or commemorate an event or
tragedy.
The frame withdrawn by Facebook called for the death of the Ahmadis in
Urdu and was widely shared in Pakistan.
“We have removed the Profile Frames in question for violating our rules,
and have ensured that they’re unavailable for future use,” a Facebook
spokesperson told AFP via email.
“We do not tolerate any content — including anything shared within Profile
Frames — that incites violence, and we remove this content whenever we
become aware of it.”
The frame was extensively used by Pakistani Facebook users after US
President Donald Trump met with several leading members of persecuted
religious groups in the White House earlier this month, including a
representative from Pakistan’s Ahmadi community.
Ahmadis were legally declared non-Muslims in Pakistan decades ago for their
belief in a prophet after Mohammed and have long been persecuted and widely
hated in the deeply conservative country.
Hardline Islamic scholars denounce the Ahmadis as heretics and the group
has been the target of violence and threats by leading politicians in
Pakistan over the years.
Facebook disabled 2.19 billion accounts in the first quarter of this year,
nearly double the number of accounts nixed in the prior three-month period.
The social network took down four million posts considered hate speech in
the first quarter of this year and continues to invest in technology to
better detect such material in various languages and regions.
However Facebook has been battered by criticism that it was more focused on
growth than protecting users or thwarting deception, bullying, and
harassment.
BSS/AFP/RY/20:32 hrs