Facebook parent company screens massive Proud Boys network from site

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Facebook parent company Meta says it has removed a network of accounts linked to the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group banned in 2018.

Meta said Thursday that it recently discovered and removed about 480 Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups linked to the Proud Boys. was about 750.

The group has been banned from Meta’s platform, but the company says it has repeatedly seen attempts by members to circumvent the ban. The people behind this effort do not openly identify themselves as Proud Boys, creating front groups and using Facebook and Instagram to direct people to other less moderated platforms. said it.

Such tactics are commonly used by extremist groups and those spreading misinformation in an attempt to evade crackdowns by social media companies.

The Proud Boys and other extremist groups sometimes find a home on smaller internet platforms catering to right-wing audiences, but nothing comes close to the range of meta assets that make it easier to recruit members.

Former leader of the Proud Boys and other members of the group will attack the U.S. Capitol this summer on Jan. 6, 2021 to prove to Congress that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. was charged with preventing

Henry “Enrique” Tallio and four others have launched a seditious conspiracy over what officials say they plan to forcefully oppose the legal transfer of presidential powers at the Joint Congress on January 6, 2021. was indicted for

In the days leading up to January 6, the Proud Boys held meetings and communicated in encrypted messages to plan the attack, according to the seditious conspiracy indictment. He drove past a police barricade and attacked a building with a mob of Trump supporters, the indictment says.

The trial is scheduled to begin on December 12th.

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