Article
Sri Lanka shut down Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram to stop anti-Muslim violence
The government of Sri Lanka has shut down Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber in an attempt to quell ethnic strife in the country. Authorities say people were using the social media platforms to stoke violence against Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority... The government has declared a state of emergency after riots in the district of Kandy have left two dead, and property destroyed. “We have clear rules against hate speech and incitement to violence and work hard to keep it off our platform,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “We are responding to the situation in Sri Lanka and are in contact with the government and non-governmental organizations to support efforts to identify and remove such content.”