Facebook bans Alex Jones and Milo Yiannopoulos

Facebook has permanently banned Infowars founder Alex Jones, and far right provocateurs Milo Yiannopoulos and Laura Loomer as well as other prominent far-right figures from its platform.

The bans follow a previous announcement that the company wasn't going to allow white nationalism and separatism on its platform anymore.

Other far-right figures affected by the ban include Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson and white nationalist Paul Nehlen.

Also banned from Facebook going forward is Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, who has been criticised for his frequent anti-Semitic remarks.

"We've always banned individuals or organisations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology," a Facebook spokesperson told Variety on Thursday.

"The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today."

The company told reporters that it was banning official accounts maintained by these users, and that it would also take down any supporter accounts set up in their likeness.

Watson wrote on Twitter he hoped "the Trump administration will now take the issue of social media censorship seriously".

"They're now just banning people for wrongthink. There's no pretence of enforcing rules."

Yiannopoulos and Jones had already been banned from Twitter.

Facebook reserved the toughest measures for Jones and his Infowars empire, which frequently spread conspiracy theories on divisive topics including school shootings and immigration.

Not only did Facebook ban Jones and Infowars, it will also take down any Infowars content posted to its platform by any of its users, and any groups meant to spread Infowars content.

Reuters / Newshub.