UPDATE – Canadian anti-Muslim Facebook page – Reporting Hate Speech on Social Media

Sep 28, 2015 | News

Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs

In an ongoing exclusive story, Humber News has confirmed that the page of a Canadian anti-Muslim group called the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) was removed this weekend after numerous Facebook users reported it as harmful for promoting violence and provoking hate speech.

On September 20, the WCAI posted an article on Facebook regarding a group in Germany who set fire to an asylum center causing a halt in Muslim immigration. The post was captioned: “We should do this too.”

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A screenshot from the WCAI Canada Facebook page on Sept. 25, 2015.

 

Ihsaan Gardee, Executive Director at National Council of Canadian Muslims said that many individuals contacted NCCM and indicated to him that they had reported the the post to Facebook.

“Our view as an organization has been that we should promote the freest possible society. This includes freedom of expression with limitations because of hate speech,” he said. “The content of the site was very disturbing. Looking at the site it is pretty obvious that it is promoting hatred and violence against Muslims and refugees,” Gardee said.

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A screenshot from from Facebook’s Encouraging Respectful behaviour policy, on Sept. 28, 2015.

Facebook stresses the importance of the community in reporting disrespectful behavior immediately.

Walied Khogali, executive director of the University of Toronto-Mississauga Student Union and a practicing Muslim said that he views such groups as promoting their own personal agenda over having thoughtful conversations about religion. Khogali also said he hopes that the public remains vigilant in reporting harmful posts which fuel hate.

 

Screen shot from Walied Khogali's Facebook page on September 27, 2015.

Screen shot from Walied Khogali’s Facebook page on September 27, 2015.

 

“All it takes is one individual to notice and report hateful content in order to get folks more involved and aware. When I do become aware of a group I am quick to respond and notify the people that manage those resources that their website is being used to promote bigotry,” Khogali said.