OTTAWA—A Facebook page that promotes false, far-right and anti-Muslim content using deceptive techniques has been allowed to continue operating for nearly a month while the social media platform investigated its activities. Now, Facebook says the page doesn’t violate its community standards, showing how close to the line purveyors of false or misleading information can play in Canada’s upcoming federal election. A recent report by the Toronto Star and BuzzFeed News showed Never Again Canada, which has nearly 235,000 followers, spread misleading content and used a URL-masking technique to deceive its audience for months. The page also promotes and has ties to the Canadian chapter of the Jewish Defense League, an offshoot of a U.S. organization which the FBI has deemed a “right-wing terrorist group.”For months, Never Again Canada posted links that looked like they were leading to Blogger, the popular Google blogging platform. Instead, anyone who clicked on the link was redirected to other websites. After investigating the issue for nearly a month, Facebook said the page does not violate the company’s community standards. “We take abuse of our systems incredibly seriously,” Facebook Canada said in a statement Wednesday. “We proactively look for bad actors, and investigate concerns when they are raised. We are continually reviewing activity on our platform for potential violation of our policies and will take action in line with our community standards.” Facebook’s community standards say the company doesn’t allow “misrepresentation,” but Never Again Canada has been able to continue the misleading link redirection. In the weeks since BuzzFeed News and the Star published the investigation, the page has shared conspiracies and anti-Muslim narratives surrounding the Notre Dame fire, promoted petitions and events by the Jewish Defense League, and continued to post misleading political co ...
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