21 Jan 2023; MEMO: Facebook users who search for "Hassan Nasrallah", the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement now see a warning message about "Dangerous Individuals and Organisations" and are given the choice between continuing to their search results or cancelling the search.
"Are you sure you want to continue? The term you searched for is sometimes associated with activities of Dangerous Individuals and Organisations, which isn't allowed on Facebook," warns the network. It then allows users to "Go to news feed" or "Continue" their search.
Those who choose "Continue" see another warning: "This Search May be Associated with Violent, Hateful, or Criminal Activity. We have Community Standards to prevent and disrupt violent, hateful, and criminal activity. When people don't follow the standards, we remove content, restrict or disable their account." Again, the social network prompts users to "Go to News Feed" or "See Results Anyway".
Results appear below a message urging users to report any "Violent, Hateful or Criminal Activity by any Individual or Organisation".
Several countries, notably Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the US, Germany and Australia, have Hezbollah and its Secretary-General Nasrallah on their terrorist lists. Nasrallah is accused of being involved in drug smuggling and terrorist activities in European and Latin American countries.
Human rights organisations also condemn Hezbollah for involvement in war crimes in Syria through its support for Bashar Al-Assad's regime.
