Atheist group claims Facebook keeps deleting its page

An atheist Facebook page with more than 1.6 million fans is being repeatedly deleted by the social network, claims the group behind it. Atheist Republic says that a coordinated campaign has resulted in the page being removed at least three times.

It is thought that Facebook’s automated removal process may be to blame, with algorithms taking the page offline after a series of reports. The page is used to actively criticize religion, and it is believed that an orchestrated fightback from religious groups is leading to its repeated automatic removal.

Facebook's algorithms work in such a way that when a page is reported a certain number of times, it is automatically "depublished." The numerous anti-religion memes shared by Atheist Republic, the page owners claim, resulted in a series of campaigns to push the page off the site.

There are Facebook groups dedicated to gathering support and start movements to effectively censor content with a reporting campaign in the full knowledge that this will lead to automatic page removal.

The group is calling for Facebook to change the way its reporting and removal algorithms work. It complains that Facebook is not quick enough to bring the unpublished page back online. Supporters of the page say that it is being unfairly targeted by those with religious belief. One says:

I love the supportive and positive messages in this community. Those who opposed it are obviously under the impression they can stifle freedom of religion, or claim an idea is offensive to all simply because they disagree with it. I'm glad to see the page is back up, and happy to have signed up with the group.