WASHINGTON, DC — On Monday evening, a group of civil rights leaders, including Muslim Advocates Executive Director Farhana Khera, will meet with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and senior Facebook officials at his home in Palo Alto, California. Muslim Advocates has worked for years to urge Facebook to remove anti-Muslim hate content from the platform and led the effort, alongside other civil rights groups, to demand that the company conduct a civil rights audit. The following is a statement from Farhana Khera about the meeting:

“Facebook has an anti-Muslim problem. For too long, Mark Zuckerberg has allowed bad actors to use his platform to dehumanize Muslims resulting in murders and attacks targeting Muslim communities in the U.S. and around the world. Facebook has been used by anti-Muslim hate groups, white nationalists and neo-Nazis to organize armed protests in front of mosques. It allowed a white nationalist extremist to livestream a mass slaughter of 51 Muslims in two New Zealand mosques. It propelled dehumanizing propaganda that fueled a genocide against Muslims in Myanmar and mob violence in India and Sri Lanka. 

Facebook says that it has successfully identified and removed 99% of ISIS-related propaganda and 99% of child exploitation material before they are even seen. Facebook has the know-how to remove dangerous, objectionable content, now it just needs the will to do so when Muslims and other communities are targeted. Now is the time for Mark Zuckerberg to act. If he doesn’t, then governments must step in to protect our communities.”

Farhana Khera is available for interviews about the dinner with Zuckerberg and Facebook’s anti-Muslim problem. If you would like to speak with her, please contact Eric Naing at [email protected].

Additional Resources:

• Facebook has an Anti-Muslim Problem
• Muslim Advocates Blasts Pandering Facebook Bias Report
• Muslim Advocates: Facebook Does Not Take Hate Content Seriously

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination. 

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