Facebook apologises to Dhruv Rathee Ace Indian YouTuber, who has 1.7 million subscribers, restores his Page

March 21, 2019:

Rathee was banned after his post about Hitler's rise to power, which implicitly drew a parallel with the rise of right wing politics.

After facing flak for briefly banning one of India's most active Pages on Facebook that warned people about the dangers of fascism, the social media giant has restored the Page and apologised to its creator Dhruv Rathee.

A popular YouTuber with more than 1.7 million subscribers, Rathee on Monday pointed out that he was banned from posting on his Facebook Page after he wrote how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power, which implicitly drew a parallel with the rise of right wing politics in India.

https://www.facebook.com/DhruvRatheePage/posts/2249478121983772

He highlighted in the post how Hitler remained unmarried, was more popular than the Nazi party, used propaganda and received support from industrialists.

While the post was a criticism of fascism, and not an endorsement, Facebook first determined that it was against its Community Standards, drawing severe criticism from several public figures.

What a coincidence that elections are 30 days away also and what a coincidence that my engagement rates are one of the biggest in India, competing with BJP’s top propganda pages, including Modi’s official page.

Today, @Facebook banned my account for 30 days.

What a coincidence that elections are 30 days away also and what a coincidence that my engagement rates are one of the biggest in India, competing with BJP’s top propganda pages, including Modi’s official page. pic.twitter.com/aVECxhT4NE

— Dhruv Rathee (@dhruv_rathee) March 17, 2019

Facebook, however, later realised its mistake and restored the Page.

"Account restored! Thanks for your support guys! See the second photo, the reason Facebook had banned me," Rathee said in a post, while adding a note from Facebook in which the social media giant apologised for the mistake.

https://www.facebook.com/DhruvRatheePage/posts/2251375668460684

"It looks like we did a mistake and removed something you posted on Facebook that did not go against our Community Standards. We want to apologise and let you know that we have restored your content and removed any blocks on your account related to this incorrect action," Facebook said in the note.

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