Wirathu (Burmese: ဝီရသူ, Pali: Vīrasū; born 10 July 1968 in Kyaukse, Mandalay Division, Burma) is a Burmese Buddhist monk, and the leader of the extremist 969 Movement in Myanmar. He has been accused of conspiring to persecute Muslims in Myanmar through his speeches, although he claims to be a peaceful preacher and not to have advocated violence—which is disputed by others. Facebook banned his page on the charge of spreading religious hatred towards other communities, after repeated warnings to not post religiously inflammatory content.