Protests in 8 US Cities Against Facebook Over Alleged Islamophobia in India

India is Facebook’s biggest market, with around 350 million Facebook accounts and about 400 million WhatsApp users.

Image from the protests in the US.

(Photo Courtesy: India Genocide Watch)

Hundreds of Americans and Indian-Americans took part in a protest organised by India Genocide Watch, a non-governmental organisation, in Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, and Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, Newsclick reported.

The protesters demanded that Mark Zuckerberg "end his company’s complicity in extreme Hindu rightwing incitement to violence, proliferating on Facebook and WhatsApp, as exposed by whistleblower Frances Haugen."

Over a month ago, Haugen, an ex-employee of Facebook, had accused the company of deliberately ignoring hate speech and misinformation on its platform in order to make more profit.

Protesters alleged that the social media giant not only refused to curb online Islamophobia, but that its algorithms deliberately promoted anti-Muslim content.

The protesters marched into Facebook's Seattle office yelling "Facebook Hatebook."

Kshama Sawant, who belongs to the Seattle City Council, said that "companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are participants... in the state forces of bigotry, hate, religions and caste oppressions."

Press release by India Genocide Watch.

According to the press release, some of the posters and placards used during the protest read:

• FACEBOOK ENABLES RACISM

• FACEBOOK ENABLES FASCISM

• FACEBOOK UNDERMINES DEMOCRACIES

• FACEBOOK PROMOTES ISLAMOPHOBIA

• FACEBOOK HATE SPEECH RULES HELP BJP IN INDIA

• FACEBOOK FAILED ITS USERS

India is Facebook’s biggest market followed by the United States, with around 350 million Facebook accounts and about 400 million WhatsApp users.

(With inputs from Newsclick.)