Facebook allows Rose City Antifa to have page despite promise to crack down on dangerous organizations
The group’s reputation for violence has been well documented
The violent Rose City Antifa group has a Facebook page despite the tech giant’s recently expanded Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy that promised to “address organizations and movements that have demonstrated significant risks to public safety.”
“Facebook vowed to crack down on political violence and election interference, but the result is far less than advertised. The platform allows Antifa organizations to organize and share content in apparent conflict with Facebook’s official policies,” Media Research Center’s Alexander Hall wrote in a report published Thursday.
Last month, Facebook posted a lengthy update on how it planned to take action against movements and organizations tied to violence. While Facebook has removed other far-left groups affiliated with violence, Rose City Antifa still has an active page on the site.
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“MRC TechWatch sent an extensive report to Facebook about the activities of Rose City Antifa... Facebook didn’t respond,” Hall wrote. “Rose City Antifa’s alleged reputation for political violence has been reported on by Politico, The Washington Times, and The Washington Post.”
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After a confrontation between authorities and protestors, police use pepper spray as multiple groups, including Rose City Antifa, the Proud Boys and others protest in downtown Portland, Ore., on Saturday, June 29, 2019. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)
Politico discussed the group in a 2017 profile headlined, “How liberal Portland became America’s most politically violent city,” and the Washington Post noted that “Unidentified Rose City Antifa members” attacked journalist Andy Ngo in 2019.
As the MRC, which is conservative, pointed out, Rose City Antifa’s pinned message on its Facebook page warns members to be discreet when planning criminal activity.
“DO NOT discuss criminal activity or make any action plans on our Facebook wall. You should never make plans with a stranger on Facebook to do this work. Even trying to sort out ride shares, or similar is very unsafe on here. Undoubtedly enemies will fish around with posts of that nature so be wary,” the group cautioned followers.
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Rose City Antifa’s own website admits the group is “sometimes” dangerous and Antifa violence has been prominently covered.
“Antifa organizations are known for violence. News reports about Rose City Antifa help make it one of the most public examples because of its social media presence,” Hall wrote.
The group’s active Facebook page has over 23,000 followers.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Multiple groups, including Rose City Antifa, the Proud Boys and conservative activist Haley Adams protest in downtown Portland, Ore., Saturday, June 29, 2019. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)
Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been criticized from all sides, with Axios editor-in-chief Mike Allen, for instance, recently suggesting that the website is a "right-wing echo chamber."
Others also have accused Zuckerberg of favoring Republicans.
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In an interview released Wednesday, Allen insisted that Zuckerberg's platform is "helping President Trump win." Allen asked the billionaire what he thought about the president and fellow Republicans being able to "master Facebook."
"Well, actually, I think across the spectrum. I don't think this is a Democrat or Republican thing," Zuckerberg responded. "I think that some people are more sophisticated and just authentic and natural on the internet and social media than others. But overall, I do think that social media allows everyone to have a voice, including people who might have not traditionally been able to get their message out through a lot of the traditional media. And that's not necessarily a partisan point."
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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