A Syrian refugee whose selfie with German chancellor Angela Merkel went viral is suing Facebook for defamation, his lawyer said, after the social networking site failed to take down a series of posts accusing him of being a "terrorist" and criminal.

Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old refugee from Damascus, was pictured in September 2015 taking a selfie with Merkel during her visit to a refugee shelter in Berlin's Spandau district.

The image came to define Germany's response to the refugee crisis, when Merkel opened the country's borders to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.

But, in the following months, Modamani's image was shared on Facebook on a series of anonymous accounts, alongside posts claiming he was responsible for attacks and murder, including the Brussels Airport bombing of March 2016.

Facebook has repeatedly refused to take the posts down, saying they do not violate the company's rules, Modamani's lawyer said.

"Whenever something happens in the news related to refugees, his picture reappears," Modamani's lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A Facebook spokesperson told Britain's Guardian newspaper they had received a takedown request from 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," the spokesperson said.

Angela Merkel Takes Selfie With Brussels Terrorist. Still wonder why Germany is flooded with rapefugees? #BanIslam pic.twitter.com/fYRPkOuAEK — Stop Islamization (@rally_texas) May 10, 2016

One post falsely linked Modamani to an incident in Berlin last month, when a group set fire to a sleeping homeless man on a train station platform, Jun said.

The post was shared 500 times and was likely to have been seen by at least 25,000 people, he said.

Jun filed a preliminary injunction against Facebook Europe in December, and a court hearing is scheduled for February 6 in Wurzburg, southern Germany, he said.

The case comes as Germany's justice ministry considers new policies to crack down on "fake news" by making Facebook and other social media companies criminally liable for failing to remove hate speech.

Facebook should be treated as a media company rather than a technology company, the justice minister said in November.

Modamani now works in a fast-food restaurant in Berlin, his lawyer said.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, announced a series of measures in November to stem a flood of "fake news" articles in the wake of the US presidential election.

He said Facebook would make it easier for users to report fake news, and more difficult for fake news providers to make money through its advertising system.</s>Facebook has repeatedly refused to take the posts down, saying they do not violate the company's rules, Modamani's lawyer said.

A Syrian refugee whose selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel went viral is suing Facebook for defamation, his lawyer said, after the social networking site failed to take down a series of posts accusing him of being a militant and criminal.

Anas Modamani, a 19-year-old refugee from Damascus, was pictured in September 2015 taking a selfie with Merkel during her visit to a refugee shelter in Berlin's Spandau district.

The image came to define Germany's response to the refugee crisis, when Merkel opened the country's borders to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers.

But in the following months Modamani's image was shared on Facebook on a series of anonymous accounts, alongside posts claiming he was responsible for militant attacks and murder, including the Brussels Airport bombing of March 2016.

Facebook has repeatedly refused to take the posts down, saying they do not violate the company's rules, Modamani's lawyer said.

"Whenever something happens in the news related to refugees, his picture reappears," Modamani's lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. Facebook could not be reached immediately for comment by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A Facebook spokesperson told Britain's Guardian newspaper they had received a takedown request from 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," the spokesperson said.

One post falsely linked Modamani to an incident in Berlin last month, when a group set fire to a sleeping homeless man on a train station platform, Jun said.

The post was shared 500 times and was likely to have been seen by at least 25,000 people, he said. Jun filed a preliminary injunction against Facebook Europe in December, and a court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 6 in Wurzburg, southern Germany, he said.

The case comes as Germany's justice ministry considers new policies to crack down on fake news by making Facebook and other social media companies criminally liable for failing to remove hate speech.

Facebook should be treated as a media company rather than a technology company, the justice minister said in November. Modamani now works in a fast-food restaurant in Berlin, his lawyer said.</s>A Syrian refugee who made headlines after he took a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel is suing Facebook for its alleged failure to remove photos falsely linking him to terrorism.

19-year-old Anas Modamani took the pic of himself with Merkel in September 2015 at a refugee shelter in Berlin.

That image, along with others taken by press agencies, was widely used by media outlets and social media users to comment on Germany's response to the refugee crisis.

However, in at least three different cases his image was doctored by trolls in order to falsely link him to terrorism and crimes.

Modamani was mistakenly identified as one of the men responsible for the bomb attack at Brussels Airport last year. His image was Photoshopped on to a photo of the truck used in the Christmas market terror attack in Berlin along with the words "Es sind Merkels Tote" ("They are Merkel's dead"). And he was accused of being one of seven men who tried to set a homeless man on fire in Berlin.

Modamani disabled his Facebook account and hired attorney Chan-jo Jun to take a case seeking an injunction "to prevent Facebook from publishing the slanderous image of the Syrian refugee Anas Modamani in the context of terrorist attacks."

In the video below, the lawyer said the original post about the homeless arson case had been shared by around 500 people, and likely to have been seen by 25,000 to 50,000 people.

This isn't the first time Chan-jo Jun has taken on Facebook. In November 2016 he initiated an investigation against Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook executives for failing to remove hate speech even once it was aware of the violations of German law.

Regarding Modmani, a Facebook representative said: "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."</s>A Syrian refugee is suing Facebook for allegedly failing to remove photos falsely linking him to terrorism.

Anas Modamani, 19, made headlines in September after a selfie he took with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, went viral.

However, since then, the image has been used to falsely link Modamani to attacks at Brussels Airport, Berlin Christmas Market and even on a homeless man.

His lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, said the social networking site failed to take down a series of posts accusing him of being a militant and criminal.

Facebook has repeatedly refused to take the posts down, saying they do not violate the company’s rules, Modamani’s lawyer said.

Jun said: ‘Whenever something happens in the news related to refugees, his picture reappears.’

A Facebook spokesman told the Guardian newspaper they had received a takedown request from Jun ‘alleging that a specific item of content on our platform violates Mr Modamani’s right of personality’.

He said: ‘Access to that reported content was quickly disabled, so we do not believe there is any basis for him to seek an injunction.’

One post, which used the image, falsely linked Modamani to an incident in Berlin last month, when a group set fire to a sleeping homeless man on a train station platform, Jun said.

The post was shared 500 times and was likely to have been seen by at least 25,000 people, he added.

Jun filed a preliminary injunction against Facebook Europe in December, and a court hearing is scheduled for February 6 in Wurzburg, southern Germany.

The case comes as Germany’s justice ministry considers new policies to crack down on fake news by making Facebook and other social media companies criminally liable for failing to remove hate speech.</s>A Syrian refugee in Germany who took a viral selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel is now taking Facebook to court because he keeps being accused of terrorism in posts on the social network.

Anas Modamani filed for an injunction that will require Facebook to remove all content from its platform that link him to terrorism. A hearing is scheduled for early February.



“We are bringing Facebook into a German court for the first time over fake news,” says a Facebook post from the law firm representing Modamani. In an accompanying video, his lawyer, Chan-jo Jun, argues that Facebook has not been properly implementing German laws.

“Facebook is showing lots of difficulties in abiding by German laws,” he said. “Slander and insults are against German laws but aren’t against [Facebook’s] community standards. This will show whether one can push through German laws or whether — as many politicians prefer — changes to the German laws are necessary to make Facebook change its behavior.”

Jun said content continues to appear on Facebook that accuses Modamani of being a terrorist, or that link him to violent acts in Germany. He cited a recent Facebook meme that accused Modamani of taking part in an attack on a homeless man in Berlin, and another that linked him to the attack on a Berlin Christmas market.

If granted, the injunction would “prevent Facebook from publishing the slanderous image of the Syrian refugee Anas Modamani in the context of terrorist attacks,” according to the BBC.

Jun is also requesting Facebook be fined 250,000 euros each time it fails to stop fake news about Modamani from spreading.



In a statement, Facebook told the BBC it quickly removed an offending image after being requested to do so by Jun, and therefore “we do not believe there is any basis for him to seek an injunction.”

Modamani arrived in Germany in September 2015 after fleeing Syria. That same month, Merkel made an appearance at the Berlin shelter where he was staying. He managed to snap a selfie with her and soon his photo — as well as news photos of him taking the selfie — spread widely in Germany and beyond.

Since that moment, Modamani has become a target of false accusations of terrorism. When bombs went off in the Brussels airport in March, his photo began to circulate with some claiming he was one of the attackers. It happened again in July after a Syrian refugee set off a suicide bomb near a wine bar in Ansbach, Germany.

“I was fed up with this happening again, so we discussed getting a lawyer involved,” Modamani told the BBC.



BuzzFeed News contacted Modamani and his lawyer and will update this story with any additional information.</s>A Syrian refugee in Germany is taking Facebook to court after false reports using his picture circulated on the social media site.

Anas Modamani was seen taking a selfie with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin in Sept. 2015.

The picture was widely circulated, and was one of the “defining images of the German response to the refugee crisis,” according to The Guardian.

READ MORE: Here’s how Facebook plans to fight fake news

But since then the picture has been used to tie the nineteen-year-old to various terrorist attacks – without any proof.

One picture from March 2016 – still available on Facebook – claims Modamani is one of the terrorists involved in the Brussels bombings.

“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,” he told BBC News.

“But I kind of just hoped it would go away on its own.”

Other posts link him to the Berlin Christmas market attack and an incident in which a homeless person was set on fire in Berlin.

Modamani says Facebook didn’t do enough to take down the incorrect posts, and that’s why he’s taking them to court.

“Every time something happens that has to do with refugees, he is wheeled out as an icon, as Merkel’s model refugee, and smeared with all sorts of criminal acts,” Jun told the Guardian.

“Anis Modamani is now defending himself by making use of his personal rights. No person has to put up with defamation and insinuation.”

READ MORE: Fake news this week: No, California didn’t legalize child prostitution

Facebook has taken down many of the inflammatory pictures, but some still circulate.

A representative from the company told media that, “Access to that reported content was quickly disabled, so we do not believe there is any basis for him to seek an injunction.”

The case will go to court on Feb. 6. It comes in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and accusations that fake news on the site influenced the results.</s>Facebook is, no doubt, an effective medium. But it is increasingly becoming a platform for people to boast or showcase their achievements. Get on to Facebook and you are inundated with photos and posts depicting other people’s seemingly perfect families and lives. Reading walls and walls of these, however, has the tendency to make you miserable if your circumstances are not that favourable or if you have fallen behind your peers.

 As researchers observed, boastful Facebook posts can induce feelings of envy and lead to unrealistic social comparisons that in turn bring down your mood and level of wellbeing. It can even lead to depression.

 In The blog, Dr Mercola puts the various studies together: A new study of more than 1,000 people in Denmark revealed causal evidence that “Facebook affects our well-being negatively.” Facebook users who took a one week break from the site reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction and a significantly improved emotional life, the study revealed.

 Such gains were greatest among heavy Facebook users, those who used the site passively (lurking but not necessarily interacting with others) and those who tended to envy others on Facebook.

 If you’re a regular Facebook user interested in increasing your wellbeing, it might not be necessary to quit the site for good, however. The researchers suggested that making adjustments in your usage behaviour could be enough to prompt positive change:

 “To make things clear, if one is a heavy Facebook user, one should use Facebook less to increase one’s wellbeing. And if one tends to be envious when on Facebook, one should avoid browsing the sections (or specific friends) on Facebook causing this envy.

 And if one uses Facebook passively, one should reduce this kind of behaviour. Due to habits, practicalities and potential ‘forecasting errors,’ it may be difficult to change one’s way of using Facebook. If this is the case, one should consider quitting Facebook for good.”

 People expect to feel better after using Facebook but don’t

 The aforementioned “forecasting errors” the researchers spoke of refer to a past study which found that people expect to feel better after Facebook use, “whereas, in fact, they feel worse.”

 This makes perfect sense, because if everyone expected Facebook to make them feel awful, they’d probably stop using it. Yet, on some level, many realise that using Facebook puts a damper on their mood.

 Part of this is due to a feeling of having wasted time, according to a Computers in Human Behaviour study, which also found that Facebook activity (but not internet browsing) is associated with a dampened mood.

 Another study, conducted by researchers from Lancaster University in England, examined studies from 14 countries to explore the connection between Facebook usage and depression.

 “The relationship between online social networking and symptoms of depression may be complex and associated with multiple psychological, social, behavioural and individual factors,” they noted. It was found that negative comparisons with others on Facebook were predictive of depression because they increased rumination.

 Likewise, frequent posting on Facebook was also associated with increased rumination and depression. Women were more likely to become depressed than men due to Facebook usage. In addition, Facebook users were more at risk of depression if they displayed the following: Were envious after observing others; accepted former partners as Facebook friends; made negative social comparisons; made frequent negative status updates.

 Social comparison may be the root of Facebook’s evil

 University of Houston researchers also explored Facebook’s emotional effects and found a link between usage of the site and symptoms of depression, which, among men, was associated with the tendency to make social comparisons (i.e., to compare yourself with others).

 In a second study, however, it turned out that social comparison was significantly associated with depressive symptoms in both men and women.

 It had previously been shown that upward social comparisons (comparing yourself to someone more successful or attractive than you) tend to make people feel worse, while downward comparisons may make you feel better.

 This study found, however, that both types of social comparisons on Facebook, as well as neutral comparison, were linked to a greater likelihood for depressive symptoms.

 Study author Mai-Ly Steers, Ph.D., told Forbes: “You should feel good after using Facebook … However … the unintended consequence is that if you compare yourself to your Facebook friends’ ‘highlight reels,’ you may have a distorted view of their lives and feel that you don’t measure up to them, which can result in depressive symptoms.

 “If you’re feeling bad rather than good after using Facebook excessively, it might be time to reevaluate and possibly step away from the keyboard.”

 Separate research also hinted at the downfall of making social comparisons via Facebook. In the study of 269 pregnant women, those with a Facebook account had higher body image concerns than those without a Facebook account.

 Researchers wrote in the journal Midwifery: “Of those with an account, increased Facebook use was associated with increased body image dissatisfaction, particularly in terms of postnatal concerns for how their body would look with 56.5 per cent reporting that they frequently compared their pregnant body to other pregnant women on the site.”

 To be fair, Facebook isn’t all bad, especially if you’re able to use it in moderation and keep others’ posts in perspective.

 Some research has even found that viewing your own Facebook profile may improve self-esteem (although other research contradicts this, suggesting that seeking reassurance via Facebook leads to lower self-esteem, “which in turn predicted increased feelings that one does not belong and that one is a burden”).

 Facebook wants you to spend more time on their site

 Facebook isn’t content to have the average user spend “just” 50 minutes a day. They’d rather it become a platform that’s on all day to become basically a background for your life. As The New York Times reported: “Facebook, naturally, is busy cooking up ways to get us to spend even more time on the platform.

 “A crucial initiative is improving its News Feed, tailoring it more precisely to the needs and interests of its users, based on how long people spend reading particular posts.

 “For people who demonstrate a preference for video, more video will appear near the top of their news feed. The more time people spend on Facebook, the more data they will generate about themselves, and the better the company will get at the task.”

 It’s important to be aware too, for yourself and your children, that using Facebook exposes you to a lot of advertising — advertising targeted to your habits and interests.

 Facebook uses sophisticated tools to track your interests, who you talk with and what you say. This includes information about your age, gender, income level and a phenomenal number of other specifics that allow advertisers to target exactly who they believe will click on their ads. While some ads may be harmless, others, like drug ads, can have more sinister effects.

 So, while social media sites like Facebook can provide a wonderful platform for friends and family to socialise and share photos and events, it is important to keep their use in perspective. Pay attention to how such sites make you feel, and if you feel worse after browsing Facebook, consider signing off permanently.

This post was syndicated from The Sun News. Click here to read the full text on the original website.

Also, Like us on facebook</s>“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.</s>Facebook is finally rolling out its fake news identification tools, starting in Germany. Seeing as it’s currently facing two lawsuits in the country, the social network’s decision to start its cleanup of bogus content outside of the U.S. is no coincidence.

In an announcement on its Newsroom blog, Facebook manager of journalism partnerships Áine Kerr states the tools will begin rolling out in Germany in the next few weeks.

More: This new fake news search engine tracks webs of web rumors

Facebook unveiled its fake news-oriented updates in December, following a mounting backlash blaming the spread of misleading and hyper-partisan content on its site for “swaying” the U.S. election. The company’s new tools rely on its algorithms, user reporting, and third-party fact checking organizations that are signatories of .

Kerr states that one of the external organizations aiding Facebook is Correctiv (a German investigative journalism non-profit) — more groups will be added to the list once they are accepted into Poynter’s program. Correctiv’s managing director, David Schraven, told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung his non-profit first met with Facebook to discuss fake news in fall of last year. Schraven adds that the “litmus test” for his organization will be to monitor news on Facebook relating to the regional election in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, in May. Correctiv’s team of 25 employees will analyze both popular news stories that perpetuate “propaganda lies” and individual content uploaded by users. Referring to the latter, Schraven adds: “Fictitious stories of crimes are probably the most important type of fake news on Facebook.”

Earlier on Sunday, BuzzFeed reported that misleading articles and conspiracy theories are among the most popular type of content on social platforms in Germany. It found that misleading stories relating to German Chancellor Angela Merkel are generating tens of thousands of comments, shares, and likes in the lead-up to the federal elections, due to take place later this year.

One of the alleged victims of fake news in Germany is currently suing Facebook. The defamation lawsuit filed by 19-year-old Syrian refugee Anas Modamani claims Facebook failed to take down a series of posts linking him to violent attacks, including Brussels Airport bombing of March 2016. The case comes in the wake of the comments made by German Justice Minister Heiko Maas urging state prosecutors to crack down on the spread of “malicious gossip” and “defamation” online.

“Facebook is earning an awful lot of money with fake news,” Maas told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag last month. “A company that earns billions from the internet also has a social responsibility. Prosecutable defamation must be deleted immediately, once reported. It needs to be made easier for users to report fake news.”

Facebook also faces a separate lawsuit that alleges the company has ignored the dissemination of hate speech on its site, in violation of German laws.</s>Censorship is almost always a touchy subject, but it's also par for the course in certain parts of the world. Just as Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is now coming to grips with its own power and responsibility over what information people see, it seems that the company is starting to flirt a little bit with censorship.

In Thailand, a local law prohibits any public criticism of Thailand's royal family. But one prominent journalist has discovered that his posts, along with posts from other users, regarding the royal transition following King Bhumibol Adulyadej's death in October are apparently being blocked within Thailand, according to TechCrunch. The posts in question are available outside of Thailand, but unavailable within the country, suggesting that Facebook is censoring content based on the geographical location of users. The blocking seems to be in response to a government request. Facebook discloses government requests that it receives around the world, and notes that it restricted 10 pieces of content between January 2016 and June 2016 in Thailand.

In the grand scheme of things, Thailand is a pretty small country with a population of nearly 70 million people. Facebook's apparent willingness to compromise on censorship has much greater implications for another Asian country.

Just a couple months ago, reports surfaced that Facebook was working on censorship tools that could restrict content based on geographical location. It appears that those tools are now ready for use and being implemented, considering what we're seeing happen in Thailand.

While Facebook continues to be officially banned in China, the social network can greatly improve the chances of ever getting into the country if it shows that its willing to play ball in terms of censorship. Given the sheer size of China's market, Facebook will need to give commensurate thought into the decision since if it ever gains sanctioned access to China, it can potentially have a large social impact on the country and its users.

But the opportunity is too massive to ignore, so Facebook will likely have to compromise on censorship even if the company is against the idea on principle. These days, tech companies are also required to store user data within China, so in addition to providing technical tools for censorship, Facebook would need to invest in data center infrastructure as well.

While people in the U.S. balk at the idea of censorship, it's important to realize that it's simply the way it is in other countries, and users in those regions have grown accustomed to -- and accepted -- governments restricting content. To the extent that Facebook wants to continue expanding into these areas, it has little choice but to accommodate those governments.

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A Syrian refugee is suing Facebook after the company failed to remove posts with his image that accuse him of being a terrorist.