Lebanese-American conservative author and terrorism expert Brigitte Gabriel is also on an internal list of “Hate Agents” maintained by Facebook, Breitbart News can exclusively reveal.
Breitbart News exposed the existence of the “Hate Agents” list last week, after a Facebook insider leaked a partial screenshot showing black conservative leader Candace Owens was also on the list. The insider, who leaked the information to Breitbart, also shared a partial image of the list.
Following the leak, Facebook admitted that the list exists, but stressed that Owens had not yet been investigated.
More names and details about the list have since been leaked to Breitbart. Copies of the list obtained by concerned Facebook employees appear to have been updated in April, before the recent round of high-profile bans.
The list, an excel spreadsheet, features mostly right-wing figures and some left-wingers, along with examples of “signals” that suggest the individuals might be “hate agents.”
The signals are divided into Level One (signals that occurred in the past year), Level Two (two years) and Level Three (three years). Signals include hate speech, support for a “designated hate entity” or “designated hateful ideology,” calls for violence, the promotion of ethnostates, acts of violence from supporters, and possession of “hate paraphernalia.”
The spreadsheet also includes a “recommendations” field next to each individual name. In this field, Facebook employees can advise whether the individual should be categorized as a “Hate Agent” or not, and if they should be removed from the platform.
It is unclear who at Facebook oversees the designation of “Hate Agents.”
Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT For America, the largest national security grassroots organization in the US which focuses on protecting Americans from both foreign and domestic threats.
Under “Level Two Signals,” a Facebook employee notes that Gabriel might face a potential violation for having security at an event provided by a “DOrg” (designated hate organization), although the name of the organization is not mentioned.
The Facebook employee also notes that Gabriel “spoke at a Christians United for Israel event where she compared Arabs to barbarians,” a comment they describe as “Tier 1 Hate Speech.”
Another instance of “Tier 1 Hate Speech” cited by Facebook is Gabriel “comparing Muslims to a disease ‘Islamic Cancer’”.
The spreadsheet explains that “public statements, or statements made in private and later made public” can be categorized as Hate Speech by Facebook.
Even though the first incident occurred in 2007 and the second in 2015, both are included as “Level Two Signals,” which the spreadsheet describes as incidents that occurred in the past two years.
In a comment to Breitbart News, Brigitte Gabriel said Facebook took her comments out of context.
“When I referred to ‘Arabs as Barbarians’ I didn’t say it that way — I was talking about Palestinian suicide bombers who blow themselves up to kill Jews” said Gabriel.
Specifically, Gabriel says she was talking about the difference between Israeli culture and a culture that produced Um Nidal, a Palestinian mother and Hamas member who boasted about three of her sons becoming “martyrs” as suicide bombers.
Gabriel also says that she did not compare Muslims to cancer.
“I was discussing the rise of terrorism in Europe” says Gabriel. “I said Europe is at stage four cancer. They have ignored the problem for so long that now the problem has metastasized in the culture, and intelligence agencies are having a hard time keeping up with monitoring the 10s of thousands of people on their list.”
“I said America is at stage two cancer. We can still implement the security measures we need to monitor and nip Islamic radicalism rising in any community in the US.”
Another incident noted as a level two hate-signal by Facebook is Gabriel’s description of Siraj Ibn Wahhaj as a “depraved Muslim terrorist.”
Wahhaj was arrested along with other Muslims at a makeshift training camp in New Mexico, and was charged with conspiracy to commit terror attacks – yet Facebook employees think labeling him a “depraved terrorist” might be over the line.
A spokesperson for Brigitte Gabriel confirmed that she faced a 24-hour ban on Facebook for the comment when it was made several months ago.
Unlike other individuals on the list, Facebook employees had not yet added a recommended course of action for Gabriel at the time the list was obtained. However, in the “notes” section it contains this ominous message:
“FB: 1 lifetime deletion for hate speech – dehumanizing.”
Facebook did not respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment.
UPDATE:
This article has been updated with comments from ACT for America founder Brigitte Gabriel.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter, Gab.ai and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to allumbokhari@protonmail.com.
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