Twitter suspends and later reinstates Louis Farrakhan's account

Other social media sites have blocked or removed Farrakhan's profiles before, including Facebook in May 2019, due to antisemitic and homophobic rhetoric.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Religious leader Louis Farrakhan gives the keynote speech at the Nation of Islam Saviours' Day convention in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. February 19, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)
Religious leader Louis Farrakhan gives the keynote speech at the Nation of Islam Saviours' Day convention in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. February 19, 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS/REBECCA COOK)
Twitter accidentally suspended the account of Louis Farrakhan, the infamous head of the Nation of Islam, an African-American political and religious movement that has also had a strong documented history of antisemitism, in addition to discrimination against other groups, according to the Washington Examiner.
Following the brief suspension, Farrakhan's Twitter timeline disappeared while also being replaced with a message notified visitors to his account of its suspension.
Twitter later reinstated Farrakhan's account in the afternoon, which was also confirmed by a Twitter representative commenting to the Washington Examiner, saying that the initial suspension was an error. After the Twitter account was reinstated, Farrakhan's number of followers were skewed, later returning to normal.
Other social media sites have blocked or removed Farrakhan's profiles before, including Facebook in May 2019, due to antisemitic and homophobic rhetoric. A Facebook representative noted in the past to CNN Business that social media platform has "always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive."
Farrakhan has a long history of making racist and antisemitic comments. In 1990, Farrakhan said, "The Jews, a small handful, control the movement of this great nation, like a radar controls the movement of a great ship in the waters… The Jews got a stranglehold on the Congress,” during a speech. In 2018, he tweeted, "I'm not an anti-Semite. I'm anti-Termite."
The Nation of Islam leader has also had ties to others accused of antisemitism, including Tamika Mallory, former co-chairwoman of the Women's March, and Linda Sarsour, a controversial Palestinian-American activist.


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