Prominent International Organization Calls On Facebook To Pay Reparations For Role In Inciting Violence

For years, Facebook has drawn harsh criticism from experts and advocates that it hasn’t done enough to stop the spread of hate speech internationally. Some have even accused the social media giant’s algorithms of actively spreading content that incites violence. This week, international aid organization Amnesty International published a dramatic report that detailed how Facebook “proactively amplified and promoted” content that encouraged violence against the Rohingya population in Myanmar. As a result, Amnesty International has called upon the company to pay reparations to the victims.

According to the report, Facebook is not a “a passive and neutral” platform no matter what it says. Instead, the company’s engagement-based business model means that its algorithms stoke anger and hatred for profit.

“This evidence shows that the core content-shaping algorithms which power the Facebook platform — including its news feed, ranking, and recommendation features — all actively amplify and distribute content which incites violence and discrimination, and deliver this content directly to the people most likely to act upon such incitement,” Amnesty International wrote in its report.

To make matters worse, this report also accuses Facebook of being aware of this problem but doing nothing to solve it. Of course, it seems unlikely that the company will take ownership for what Amnesty International calls a “flagrant disregard for human rights.” But if enough evidence mounts against it, Facebook may be forced to strengthen its policies at the very least.




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