'Facebook, Twitter allowing Islamophobia to flourish'

London, Jan 3: Social networking giants Facebook and Twitter have not removed hundreds of inflammatory Islamophobic postings despite being alerted by anti-racism groups, The Independent reported. In the the aftermath of the Rotherham sex-abuse scandal and the murder of British hostages held by the Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS), the number of hate messages targeting Muslims have gone up significantly in recent months. Over the past four months, anti-racism groups have brought dozens of accounts and hundreds of such messages to the attention of the social-media companies. "But despite this most of the accounts reported are still easily accessible," the report added. In its response, Facebook said it had to "strike the right balance" between freedom of expression and maintaining "a safe and trusted environment". Twitter said it prohibits threats of violence and reviews all content that is reported for breaking its rules.