British Museum facing social media campaign to return Easter Island statue

The Hoa Hakananai'a has been in the British Museum since 1869

The British Museum has been subject to a campaign by social media users in Chile demanding the return of a stone monument taken from Easter Island.

The museum has two moai statues which were taken from the Chilean territory of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, in 1868.

The online campaign began after an influencer encouraged his followers to "spam" the museum's Instagram posts with "return the moai" comments.

The British Museum said it deactivated comments on one social media post.

The island of Rapa Nui, located some 2,300 miles (3,700 km) from Chile's Pacific coast, is well renowned for its moai statues, which are said to embody the spirit of a prominent ancestor.

Dating back to between 1400 and 1650 AD, many remain on the island to this day, but several have been transferred to museums around the world - including the Hoa Hakananai'a in the British Museum's collection.

The statue, along with a second, smaller moai known as Hava, were given as gifts to Queen Victoria in 1869 by the captain of HMS Topaze, Commodore Richard Powell. The Queen donated the two statues to the British Museum.

There have long been calls to return the Hoa Hakananai'a, or "Stolen Friend", to Rapa Nui.

• 'Stolen friend': Rapa Nui seek return of moai statue

The renewed campaign by Chilean social media influencer Mike Milfort saw many of his followers demand its repatriation in the comments section of several of the museum's Instagram posts.

Mr Milfort regularly speaks about the moai in his viral videos.

"My followers began spamming 'return the moai' on Wikipedia, and then the comments section of the British Museum Instagram was full of people posting 'return the moai'," he said in one recent clip.

Chile's President Gabriel Boric has also backed the sentiment behind the social media campaign in a recent radio interview.

The British Museum says it deactivated comments on one post, which had been shared in collaboration with a youth charity.

A spokesperson said the museum welcomed debate but it had to be "balanced against the need for safeguarding considerations, especially where young people are concerned".

The museum says it has good and open relations with colleagues in Rapa Nui and there have been several visits from the community to London since 2018.

Last year, Greece's prime minister called for the Parthenon Sculptures - or Elgin Marbles - to be returned from the museum.

The sculptures are one of the most high-profile artefacts in the debate about whether museums across the world should return items to their countries of origin.