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High price put on Facebook head

A person from Värmland, western Sweden, contacted police after realising a 20,000 kronor ($2920) reward had been offered in return for their life on the social networking site Facebook.

Published: 14 November 2009 10:04 CET

Police in Karlstad are deciding whether to investigate the online bounty after the victim browsed the website on Friday evening and noticed the death threat.

“A report has been filed but there is no grounds to believe that the threat will be carried out,” said officer Tommy Lind to local newspaper Nya Wermlands-Tidningen.

“But this is more serious that many would think.”

Police believe the perpetrator is oblivious to the gravity of the crime which has been committed.

“It involves a younger person who probably doesn’t understand that the consequences of their actions are punishable,” Lind added.

A decision will be taken over the weekend as to whether police will take matters further in the case.

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FACEBOOK

Facebook deletes virus conspiracy accounts in Germany

Facebook says it has deleted the accounts, pages and groups linked to virus conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers in Germany who are vocal opponents of government restrictions to control the coronavirus pandemic.

Published: 17 September 2021 09:06 CEST
Updated: 17 September 2021 15:52 CEST
Facebook deletes virus conspiracy accounts in Germany
An anti-vaccination and anti-Covid demo in Berlin on August 28th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christophe Gateau

With just 10 days to go before Germany’s parliamentary elections – where the handling of the pandemic by Angela Merkel’s goverment will come under scrutiny – Facebook said it had “removed a network of Facebook and Instagram accounts” linked to the so-called “Querdenker” or Lateral Thinker movement.

The pages posted “harmful health misinformation, hate speech and incitement to violence”, the social media giant said in a statement.

It said that the people behind the pages “used authentic and duplicate accounts to post and amplify violating content, primarily focused on promoting the conspiracy that the German government’s Covid-19 restrictions are part of a larger plan to strip citizens of their freedoms and basic rights.”

The “Querdenker” movement, which is already under surveillance by Germany’s intelligence services, likes to portray itself as the mouthpiece of opponents
of the government’s coronavirus restrictions, organising rallies around the country that have drawn crowds of several thousands.

READ ALSO: Germany’s spy agency to monitor ‘Querdenker’ Covid sceptics

It loosely groups together activists from both the far-right and far-left of the political spectrum, conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers. And some of their rallies have descended into violence.

Social media platforms regularly face accusations that they help propagate misinformation and disinformation, particularly with regard to the pandemic and vaccines.

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