A video posted on Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan’s Facebook page, in which the controversial black nationalist compared Jews to termites, was taken down on Thursday by the social-media platform.
Facebook told TheWrap that Farrakhan’s comments were in blatant violation of its hate-speech policies.
“I can go anywhere in the world. I’m not mad at you because you’re so stupid. So when they talk about Farrakhan, call me a hater—you know what they do—call me an anti-Semite, stop it! I’m anti-termite! I don’t know nothing about hating somebody because of their religious preference,” Farrakhan says, to applause and laughter.
The video was of a speech Farrakhan gave in Detroit earlier this month to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Million Man March, his famous rally in Washington, D.C.
Farrakhan has a long history of making comments that are perceived as anti-Semitic, and has suggested that “powerful Jews” were responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Anti-Defamation League has called Farrakhan “the leading anti-Semite in America.”
Facebook told The Wrap on Thursday that the video “amounts to Tier 1 hate speech,” which, according to its community standards, includes dehumanizing speech and making comparisons to animals.
The company also decided to place a strike on Farrakhan’s account, as a warning.