Facebook on Thursday banned black activist leader Louis Farrakhan, far-right icon Alex Jones and several others from its main service and from Instagram in a heightened crackdown on hate content at the leading social network.

“We've always banned individuals or organisations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook said in a statement.

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

The company said on Thursday that it has also banned extreme right-wing figures Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer and the conservative conspiracy site Infowars. Jones was already banned from Facebook but not from Instagram.