Meet the Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist encouraging her fellow Christians to get vaccinated
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 19, 2021
(RNS) — Written in epidemiologist Emily Smith’s friendly, informational voice, the Facebook page has grown to more than 96,000 followers.
LifeSiteNews removed from Facebook for violating COVID-19 misinformation policies
By Jack Jenkins — May 5, 2021
(RNS) — The ultraconservative website, which often features faith content, was removed for ‘repeatedly violating our COVID-19 policies,’ a Facebook spokesperson told RNS.
RNS Weekly News Quiz: April 22, 2021
By Emily Churchill — April 23, 2021
Test your knowledge of current events in the world of religion.
Likes and prayers: Facebook tests new ‘prayer post’ feature
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 21, 2021
(RNS) — The idea for prayer posts grew out of the myriad ways users have connected over Facebook while distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the spokesperson.
Civil rights group sues Facebook over anti-Muslim posts
By Alejandra Molina — April 8, 2021
(RNS) — 'Hateful, anti-Muslim attacks are especially pervasive on Facebook,' the lawsuit alleges.
Holocaust survivors use social media to fight anti-Semitism
By David Rising — April 8, 2021
(AP) — The #ItStartedWithWords campaign educates people about how the Nazis dehumanized Jews years before death camps were established.
Celebrating Ash Wednesday in a pandemic? There’s an app for that
By Emily McFarlan Miller — February 16, 2021
(RNS) — Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow also has taken the day's most visible tradition online with an 'AshTag' filter on both Facebook and Instagram.
Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib denounce Facebook as complicit in anti-Muslim violence
By Alejandra Molina — October 22, 2020
(RNS) — Their condemnation comes after a new report found that Facebook has played a role in anti-Muslim violence in Germany, Sweden, New Zealand and the United States.
Alabama Southern Baptist pastor resigns after speaking at party for a KKK leader
By Yonat Shimron — July 30, 2020
(RNS) — Will Dismukes, who is also a Republican state representative, resigned from his church after offering an invocation at a birthday party honoring a Confederate general who was also the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
Facebook, Instagram unblock #Sikh hashtag amid 1984 massacre remembrance
By Aysha Khan — June 4, 2020
(RNS) — After nearly three months, Facebook and Instagram have unblocked the #Sikh hashtag, saying the block occurred ‘mistakenly’ after a user reported the hashtag in March.
A 24-hour online vigil will name some of the people who have died of COVID-19
By Yonat Shimron — May 19, 2020
(RNS) — The effort seeks to humanize and honor the people who have died. It's part of a marathon reading of names with songs and prayers interspersed.
Black churches, via phones and Facebook, bridging digital divide amid COVID-19
By Adelle M. Banks — April 30, 2020
(RNS) — ‘This is definitely new territory,’ said an associate minister in rural South Carolina. ‘We’ve learned to do things that we never thought we’d do.’
What happens when a virus forces faith communities to go virtual
By Paul Brandeis Raushenbush — March 12, 2020
(RNS) — When two or three are gathered on Facebook, is Christ there? When 10 Jews meet on a Zoom call, is it a minyan?
Report blames major US corporations for global spread of anti-Muslim violence
By Aysha Khan — November 6, 2019
(RNS) — The report calls companies including Facebook, Amazon, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, iHeartMedia and Sinclair Broadcast Group 'the unindicted co-conspirators of the Christchurch shooter' who attacked two New Zealand mosques in March.
Facebook and the speech of religious pro-lifers
By Charles C. Camosy — October 31, 2019
(RNS) — Facebook's refusal to vet political ads for accuracy has brought outrage from some on the left, who say it leaves the network vulnerable to being manipulated as it was in 2016's election. But the fact is that Facebook’s sins are bipartisan.
