Despite protests, anti-Indian hate groups flourishing on Facebook Down Under

Melbourne, Jan. 24 (ANI): Despite a hue and cry from Indians in Australia, anti-Indian Facebook sites such as groups such as 'I think Indian People Should Wear Deodorant', 'Stop Whinging Indians, and 'Australia: Indians, You Have a Right to Leave' continue to flourish.

"These sites must be shut down but, on the other hand, we must keep track of these hate groups being formed. They can be online or offline. When they're offline we call them gangs. These are essentially online gangs," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Gautam Gupta, secretary of the Federation of Indian Students, as saying.

Not only the anti-Indian hate groups are active on Facebook, many, including F*** Off - We're Full and Speak English or Piss Off!!!, are growing at a rate of about 2000 people a week.

"I don't think it's just a Facebook problem - it's a social problem, a problem in the society," Gupta said.

Speak English or Piss Off!!! recently posted a note stating: "We are actually winning the battle with Facebook to keep this page up and running."

Darrin Hodges, administrator of the group F*** Off - We're Full, was unapologetic and said Facebook was inconsistent in the way it dealt with groups.

"Our group has been shut down five times and defaced by internet trolls," he said.

Alex Gollan, who set up the Facebook group Australians Against Racism and Discrimination, said it is not in Facebook's interest to close racist pages that hosted advertising.

"Racism on Facebook is an overwhelming problem and it is massively out of control," he said.

Darlene Ford, who teaches Indian students at Adelaide's Cambridge College, said she followed Facebook procedure for reporting a group. She said she was frustrated by Facebook's lack of action. (ANI)