Fact Check: Did Facebook Allow a Post that Calls for the Hanging of White People?

A Facebook user named Adam Butsch went viral in May after he allegedly called for the genocide of white people.

According to the netizens show shared the screenshot is that Facebook refused to take down the alleged post because it did not violate any of their rules.

Is it true or just a hoax?

The rumored screenshot of Adam Butsch's post has been circulating in conservative circles. It is spread around along with the accusation that Facebook is quick in taking down racist posts against Black people, but does not do anything about racist posts against white people.

The site Snopes investigated the controversial post, however, the site stated that the posts do not include a link that can trace it back to the original post.

The name Adam Butsch can't be found on Facebook. It is possible that the account was deactivated or the message was deleted, or it can be that someone created the fake screenshot and made a meme about it. The screenshot circulated at the exact same time that the Black Lives Matter protest started.

Another thing that concerned the netizens is the alleged claim that Facebook refused to take down the post and allowing it to spread.

The site Snopes reached out to Facebook for more information about the controversial post, as well as the rumors that the social media site deemed it as appropriate and that the post did not violate their community standards.

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A spokesperson of Facebook told Snopes that they were not aware of such a post. The spokesperson also stated that they found no indication that a Facebook representative posted a response to the controversial message and saying that it did not violate the company's company standards.

The content of the message, suggesting that white people should be hanged, is in clear violation of Facebook's hate speech policy, according to the spokesperson. He added that if Facebook encountered the post, the employees would immediately remove it and suspend the account.

The controversial meme

The meme that is spreading on social media is not a single screenshot, it is a combination of two separate images. The images are low quality so it is difficult to know if it has been altered.

There is no concrete proof that the post was ever posted on Facebook. If it has been posted on the social media site by a user named Adam Butsch, it is possible it has been deleted.

Meanwhile, the social media company and the French prosecutors are currently investigating the racist posts on a Facebook group that is used by the French police.

The interior minister, Christophe Castaner, has ordered an inquiry after the comments on the private Facebook group were leaked by StreetPress.

The controversy heightened the tensions between the French police and the protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement in the country.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the Facebook group has 7.240 members and most of them are serving police.

The group was founded in 2015 by a police officer and his civilian partner. Screenshots released by StreetPress showed that the comments were racists, sexist, homophobic, and mocked the deaths and injuries of the civilians during a police encounter.