T Raja Singh

Social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, on September 3, banned Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA T Raja Singh for violating hate speech policies. 

We have banned Raja Singh from Facebook for violating our policy prohibiting those that promote or engage in violence and hate from having a presence on our platform, a Facebook spokesperson said through a statement. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led to Facebook’s decision to remove his account, the statement read. 

The social media giant had been under pressure for weeks after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article, published on August 14, alleged that Facebook’s content policies favoured the ruling party in India. The report had claimed that Facebook had ignored posts containing hate speech by Singh. 

In Facebook posts and public appearances, Indian politician T Raja Singh has said Rohingya Muslim immigrants should be shot, called Muslims traitors and threatened to raze mosques, the article mentioned. 

Following the WSJ report, a Parliamentary panel had summoned Facebook representatives to discuss the issue of alleged misuse of social media platform on September 2.

The Information Technology (IT) panel headed by lawmaker Shashi Tharoor from Congress party questioned Facebook’s India chief Ajit Mohan over two hours. 

According to the sources, the decision to ban Singh from the platform was taken after an extensive process that the company follows in determining, which individuals meet the criteria for policy violation and the work had been ongoing for some time to review Singh’s actions. 

Also read : Instagram suspends Hindustani Bhaus account for violating platforms community guidelines

Singh, however, on September 3, claimed that he was inactive on Facebook since April 2019. 

Friends, I’ve received news through media that I’ve been banned by Facebook for the so-called controversial speeches of mine.