Facebook has removed a page calling Isla Vista killer Elliot Rodger an ‘American Hero’, after resisting doing so despite requests from swathes of users.

The page had called Rodger an “American hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in the struggle against feminazi ideology”, and asked users to “pay tribute to him”.

A number of activists reported the page to Facebook on the grounds of hate speech, harassment and violence, and encouraged others on Twitter to do the same.

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Facebook initially responded to their reports by arguing that the page did not breach its community standards. Many users posted pictures of Facebook’s response on Twitter.

But the page was taken down on Monday afternoon, with Facebook citing its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

The Guardian speculated that the page may have been intentionally designed to be provocative, noting its similarity with sites such as 4chan that often troll victims of tragedies.

Much of Rodger’s preparation played out on the internet, as he outlined his plans for the shooting in a manifesto and YouTube video posted online. It was revealed on Monday that Rodger’s parents were trying to stop their son after receiving the manifesto minutes before he began his killing spree.