Southern Mongolian News — Originally published on October 6, 2026, the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC), the Inner Mongolian People's Party (IMPP), and the Southern Mongolia Congress issued this joint statement regarding the suspension of Facebook accounts belonging to Southern Mongolian human rights activist groups and their leaders. The account removals reportedly began on August 17, 2026. The organizations raise concerns about the impact on efforts to draw international attention to human rights violations and cultural repression in Southern Mongolia.

Accounts Targeted

Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) — United States

  • Official SMHRIC Facebook account: Closed
  • Enghebatu Togochog, Director: Personal account closed
  • Impact: Years of human-rights documentation and access to tens of thousands of followers have been lost
  • Meta claim: "Inauthentic behavior" notification in a single email
  • Meta response: No response, no explanation despite multiple requests for clarification

Inner Mongolian People's Party (IMPP) — Japan

  • Official IMPP Facebook account: Closed
  • Khuvisgalt Khereid, President: Personal account closed
  • Impact: Years of advocacy and human-rights documentation and access to tens of thousands of followers have been lost
  • Meta claim: "Inauthentic behavior" notification in a single email
  • Meta response: No response, no explanation despite multiple requests for clarification

Southern Mongolia Congress — Japan

  • Official organizational account: Closed
  • Daichin Olhunud, Secretary-General: Personal account closed
  • Impact: Years of advocacy and documentation and access to tens of thousands of followers have been lost
  • Meta claim: False "copyright claim" by Sankei Shimbun
  • Meta response: No response, no explanation despite multiple requests for clarification

Pattern of Systematic Suppression

The three organizations have documented evidence demonstrating that these account suspensions were not accidental, random enforcement actions, but rather part of a systematic and intentional campaign to silence Southern Mongolian voices during a critical period of international human rights advocacy. The timing is particularly troubling, as it coincides with increased international attention to human rights violations in Southern Mongolia, including the 2020 mass protests against the elimination of Mongolian-language education.

The pattern becomes even clearer when examining the coordinated nature of the removals: organizations spanning two continents—SMHRIC in the United States and both the Inner Mongolian People's Party and Southern Mongolia Congress in Japan—had their accounts targeted within days of each other, all connected to Southern Mongolian activism. Notably, two organizations—SMHRIC and the Inner Mongolian People's Party—had their accounts closed under the same vague pretext of "inauthentic behavior," while the Southern Mongolia Congress's account was suspended under a fabricated "copyright claim." The use of differing yet equally hollow justifications, coordinated across multiple countries, demonstrates a sophisticated suppression strategy. More tellingly, Meta has provided no response and no explanation despite multiple clarification requests from affected organizations and leaders, a pattern of silence that undermines any claim of legitimate enforcement.

Context: Human Rights Crisis in Southern Mongolia

These account removals occur against the backdrop of China's intensifying campaign of cultural and linguistic erasure in Southern Mongolia, what Mongolian communities worldwide describe as "cultural genocide." Key facts include:

  • The 2020 elimination of Mongolian-language instruction in schools, affecting over 1 million Mongolian students and triggering mass protests across the region;
  • Implementation of the "Firm Inculcation of Chinese Nationality Common Identity" campaign, an explicit state policy to replace Mongolian identity with Chinese identity;
  • Widespread suppression of Mongolian cultural expression, language use, and religious practice, and the total ban of Mongolian language in all spheres of social life in Southern Mongolia;
  • Systematic persecution of activists, including transnational repression targeting Southern Mongolian exiles and even Mongolian citizens in the independent nation of Mongolia;

Joint Statement

"We are deeply concerned that Meta is facilitating censorship by systematically removing accounts that document and raise awareness about human rights violations. These activist accounts were performing critical advocacy work, sharing information about persecution in Southern Mongolia with international audiences. Their removal effectively silences a persecuted minority at a time when their voices are most needed." — Enghebatu Togochog, Director, SMHRIC.

"Meta's actions against our organizations demonstrate how major tech platforms can become instruments of censorship. The simultaneous targeting of all three major Southern Mongolian exile organizations reveals a coordinated suppression strategy, not random enforcement." — Khuvisgalt Khereid, President, IMPP.

"We demand accountability for Meta's role in silencing diaspora advocacy. Meta's refusal to respond or explain demonstrates they know their actions are indefensible." — Daichin Olhunud, Secretary-General, Southern Mongolia Congress.

The account closures also come amid heightened scrutiny of Meta's historical dealings with the Chinese government. In April 2025, former Facebook Director of Global Public Policy Sarah Wynn-Williams testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that Facebook had worked "hand in glove" with the Chinese Communist Party while seeking entry to the Chinese market, including developing custom censorship tools and mechanisms. The organizations believe the simultaneous closure of all three major exile organizations and their leaders warrants investigation in light of that history.

Demands on Meta/Facebook

The three organizations call on Meta/Facebook to:

  • Immediately restore all suppressed Southern Mongolian activist accounts and provide a transparent explanation for their removal
  • Conduct an independent audit of content moderation decisions targeting Southern Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uyghur activist accounts for potential discriminatory patterns
  • Implement transparent appeal processes and provide detailed reasoning for any future content removals affecting human rights organizations and activists
  • Establish independent oversight mechanisms to prevent future suppression of human rights advocacy content
  • Publicly commit to resisting government pressure to censor content from persecuted minorities and human rights advocates

Call on U.S. Congress to Hold Meta Accountable

The three organizations call on the U.S. Congress to follow up on its previous hearings and investigations into Mark Zuckerberg, Meta/Facebook, and the company's relationship with China, particularly in light of former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams's 2025 testimony alleging that Facebook worked with the Chinese Communist Party and developed censorship tools to satisfy Beijing's demands.

The closure of Facebook accounts belonging to all three major Southern Mongolian exile organizations including SMHRIC, the Inner Mongolian People's Party, and the Southern Mongolia Congress, as well as their leaders, demands congressional scrutiny. These organizations operate outside China and have long documented human-rights violations and criticized Chinese government policies.

Congress should require Meta to disclose who initiated the reports and complaints, whether coordinated reporting or China-linked actors were involved, who submitted the false copyright claim attributed to Sankei Shimbun, and whether Meta has received communications from Chinese authorities or their intermediaries concerning Southern Mongolian activists.

Meta possesses the evidence needed to answer these questions. Congress should obtain those records, require Zuckerberg and responsible Meta executives to testify under oath, and determine whether Meta's systems have been used to facilitate the suppression of Southern Mongolian human-rights advocacy outside China.

Jointly signed by:

Enghebatu Togochog, Director of Southern Mongolia Human Rights Information Center

Khuvisgalt Khereid, President of Inner Mongolian People's Party

Daichin Olhunud, Secretary-General of Southern Mongolia Congress