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Polish minister accuses Facebook of censorship over right-wing symbol
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Mon Nov 7, 2016 | 12:51pm EST
Polish minister accuses Facebook of censorship over right-wing symbol
By Marcin Goettig | WARSAW
Poland's digital economy minister accused Facebook of censorship on Monday after the company suspended some users' profiles for using a little-known far-right symbol.
The Falanga symbol, depicting a stylized hand holding a sword, was used by a banned radical nationalist group in the 1930s but is legal in Poland and other countries. It now serves as the logo of a far-right Polish group called ONR.
The row follows a wider global dispute over Facebook's standards for removing content. Seventy rights groups asked the company in a letter last month to clarify its internal policies, which Facebook has since said it will review.
The Polish controversy started when the social network blocked a page used by nationalists to promote an Independence Day march. Last month it also removed numerous user posts containing a poster for the march that featured the Falanga, explaining that it considered the symbol historically related to hate speech.
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Polish minister accuses Facebook of censorship over right-wing symbol
By Marcin Goettig | WARSAW
Poland's digital economy minister accused Facebook of censorship on Monday after the company suspended some users' profiles for using a little-known far-right symbol.
The Falanga symbol, depicting a stylized hand holding a sword, was used by a banned radical nationalist group in the 1930s but is legal in Poland and other countries. It now serves as the logo of a far-right Polish group called ONR.
The row follows a wider global dispute over Facebook's standards for removing content. Seventy rights groups asked the company in a letter last month to clarify its internal policies, which Facebook has since said it will review.
The Polish controversy started when the social network blocked a page used by nationalists to promote an Independence Day march. Last month it also removed numerous user posts containing a poster for the march that featured the Falanga, explaining that it considered the symbol historically related to hate speech.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-facebook-idUSKBN13228Y