Facebook has cancelled the account of Myanmar鈥檚 military chief as part of its commitment to tackling the spread of hate speech and misinformation.
The company announced on Monday that it had banned commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing and 17 other individuals associated with Myanmar鈥檚 armed forces. 鈥淲e want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions,鈥� Facebook said in a .
The move follows the release of a declaring that Hlaing and other top military generals in Myanmar should be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes and genocide of the country鈥檚 minority Rohingya population.
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The UN report , including posts stating that 鈥渞ace cannot be swallowed by the ground but only by another race鈥�.
Facebook earlier this year to crack down on the online spread of military propaganda in Myanmar. Since then, it has removed posts inciting violence and blocked 52 Facebook pages in the country, including that of the military鈥檚 Myawady television network.
The company made a in late 2016. But the removal of Hlaing and other army officials in Myanmar is an unprecedented move, marking the first time it has banned a country鈥檚 military or political leaders.
