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Meta’s suspension comes as former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested over a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court
MANILA, Philippines – Meta on Wednesday, March 19, suspended the Facebook pages of SMNI News and related pages, such as DZAR 1026 Sonshine Radio and SMNI Integrated News, owned by embattled doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy‘s Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI).
SMNI announced in an article on its website and social media posts that Meta suspended these accounts for violating its Community Standards by “expressing hatred or contempt for a group of people and using harmful racial stereotypes.”
SMNI has a track record of fueling disinformation, and continuing the red-tagging of journalists and activists critical of former president Rodrigo Duterte and Quiboloy.
Meta’s suspension of the pages also comes after Duterte’s arrest over a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
Rappler has reached out to Meta on the suspension but the company has yet to reply on the matter as of posting.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa criticized Meta’s suspension of SMNI News’ accounts, suggesting followers to follow other pages for the network’s programs NewsBlast, Pulso ng Bayan, and Nightline News.
Dela Rosa recently made his first appearance since the ICC arrest at a pro-Duterte rally in Manila on Saturday, March 15.
As of writing, only NewsBlast and Nightline News’ Facebook pages remain accessible.
This is not the first time SMNI News’ Facebook page has become inaccessible. In September 2023, the page was inaccessible after Meta deleted Quiboloy’s page in line with the company’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.
YouTube also took down Quiboloy’s channel in June 2023 due to US sanctions for “serious human rights abuse.” Access to DZAR 1026 Sonshine Radio’s channel was also restricted from its administrators and was eventually deleted in May 2024.
Since the deletion of the original DZAR channel, a new channel named DZAR 1026 News was created in August 2024, which has since amassed more than 41,000 followers. – Rappler.com
