Myanmar's powerful military chief is among 20 individuals and organizations that Facebook says it is banning from its site in order to "prevent the spread of hate and misinformation."

The action Monday comes after the social media giant was criticized for being used to inflame ethnic and religious conflict in the country, particularly against Rohingya Muslims.

Some 700,000 Rohingya fled their homes in western Myanmar over the past year in response to a brutal counterinsurgency campaign by the military, which has been accused of massive human rights violations.

Facebook said it had also targeted pages and accounts that pretended to provide independent news and opinion, while covertly promoting the messages of Myanmar's military.