Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: Shutterstock
Facebook sanctions Netanyahu page over hate speech violation
The social network says it had suspended the bot connected to the prime minister account for 24 hours after an inflammatory post, allegedly unauthorized, claiming 'all Arabs want to destroy us' appeared on his page
Facebook says it has sanctioned the page of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of a violation of the company's hate speech policy after an inflammatory post aimed against Israel's Arab population appeared on his official social media page.
Facebook said on Thursday that the social network had suspended for 24 hours the page's bot, or automated chat function.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Shutterstock)
The page had called on voters to prevent the establishment of a government composed of "Arabs who want to destroy us all - women, children and men." The post sparked uproar by opposition politicians.
Netanyahu denied he wrote the post in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet radio. He said it was a staffer's mistake and the post was removed.
The Facebook message sent by the bot in Hebrew
Joint List leader Ayman Odeh said his party had appealed to Facebook in order to have the post taken down.
Netanyahu is fighting for his political survival ahead of elections next week and has been shoring up nationalist voters with feisty language and hard-line promises.
