Facebook is often accused of not doing enough to stop the spread of hate speech, misinformation, and other forms of dangerous content around the world. However, the company has been especially criticized for its alleged role in the massacre of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. According to experts and activists, the social media giant’s algorithms led to the creation of an echo chamber where hatred was able to spread quickly. That’s why the prominent human rights organization Amnesty International called on Facebook this week to pay reparations to the Rohingya for its role in the violence.

“Our investigations have made it clear that Facebook’s dangerous algorithms, which are hard-wired to drive ‘engagement’ and corporate profits at all costs, actively fanned the flames of hate and contributed to mass violence,” said Pat de Brún, Head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International. “It is high time Meta faced its responsibilities by paying reparations to the Rohingya and by fixing its business model to prevent this from happening again.”

For its part, Facebook always defends its international issues by noting how difficult it is to police content in so many different languages and cultures. However, the company has taken on that job whether it likes it or not, and it needs to do better protecting users who may be vulnerable to the effects of hate speech.

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