“One cannot send a message that while hate messages against some are unacceptable, these are acceptable against others”
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has written to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding a ban on posts on the social media platform spreading “Islamophobia and hatred against Islam” which is reflective of prejudice and bias that will encourage further radicalisation, the government said on Sunday.
Facebook announced that it was updating its hate speech policies this month to ban any posts denying or distorting the Holocaust.
“I would ask you to place a similar ban on Islamophobia and hate against Islam for Facebook that you have put in place for the Holocaust” Khan said in the letter, which the Pakistani government posted on Twitter.
In reply to the letter, a Facebook spokeswoman told Reuters that the company was against all types of hate based on race,ethnicity, national origin or religion and it doesn’t allow attacks based on these factors.
“We’ll remove this hate speech as soon as we become aware of it”. The spokeswoman said, also adding that the company had “more work to do”.
In his letter, Khan referred to the situation in France, where Islam, was labelled with terrorism. Earlier on Sunday, Khan said that by promoting the showcase of cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammad, French President Emmanuel Macron had “attacked Islam.”
Khan’s remarks came after Macron paid tribute to a teacher of French history beheaded by an Islamist radical who wanted to avenge the use of cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammad in a session on freedom of expression.
