UK Edition
Facebook sued by Syrian migrant over 'fake news' after being falsely accused of terrorism on social media
Facebook is being sued by a Syrian migrant who, after posing for a selfie with Angela Merkel, was falsely accused of being involved in terrorism on social media.
Anas Modamani took the selfie in September 2015 when the German Chancellor visited a migrant shelter where he was living.
It was something he came to regret when his passing resemblance to one of those involved in a terrorist outrage in Brussels led to his being wrongly accused of being one of the attackers himself.
"When the claims started being circulated on social media, I was in Munich visiting friends," he told the BBC.
"Some friends advised that I stay at home and avoid going out in public, which I did.
"Others encouraged me to go to the police and report what was being said about me."
The furore died down until the attack on the Christmas market in Berlin last month and the attempted murder of somebody sleeping rough by a gang of young migrants. Once again he was accused of being a culprit.
By then he had disabled his own Facebook account. But angered at being targeted again, he has decided to take legal action.
A Facebook spokesman defended the social media organisation.
"We received a takedown request from Mr Jun alleging that a specific item of content on our platform violates Mr Modamani's right of personality.
"Access to that reported content was quickly disabled, so we do not believe there is any basis for him to seek an injunction."
Chan-jo Jun, his lawyer, is seeking an injunction preventing Facebook from publishing "the slanderous image of the Syrian refugee Anas Modamani in the context of terrorist attacks".
Facebook has come under increasing pressure over "fake news" stories with Thomas Opperman, the chief of the Social Democrat Party, a junior partner in Germany's coalition government, calling for the company to be fined up to €500,000 (£437,000) for each post contacting fake news or hate speech.
Last month Facebook said it intended to introduce tools to prevent fake news stories from spreading fake news in response to complaints it hard received from users over how it monitored content.