Policy Changes Come As Platform Continues Harboring Misinformation, Fueling Flames Of Violence

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest interview with Recode might give you a sense of déjà vu.  The 90-minute conversation was simply a regurgitation of the same talking points from the company’s worldwide apology tour. Most notably, Mr. Zuckerberg couldn't help but share his favorite statistic – arguing Facebook’s artificial intelligence (AI) flags 99 percent of the terrorist content the company takes down. He goes on to assert, “I think the point where you have that kind of AI technology and you have the resources to be able to employ people to do that kind of content review, I kind [of] think you have a responsibility to do it.” But Mr. Zuckerberg’s rhetoric fails to match up with the facts on the ground.

Facebook, under continued scrutiny for its content moderation policies, on Wednesday also announced new policies for removing misinformation. As The New York Times notes, however, for many in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India, this comes as too little too late. Hate speech and false information has greatly contributed to the spread of ethnic minority, religious and mob violence in those regions and around the world. Despite what Mr. Zuckerberg stated was a “terrible tragedy” in April, the change comes months after the company was accused by the United Nations for allowing such content to proliferate. What’s worse, the change does not apply to Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which has been used to spread rumors that have led to mob violence.

Facebook’s continued misadventures and public relations stunts continue to be ineffective and impotent.  Beyond the fake news, ISIS terror propaganda is widely pervasive and easily found.  The Counter Extremism Project identified a particularly gruesome ISIS propaganda video, “The Tent Of Muslims,” showing burned, beheaded corpses and heads taken as trophies.  Another video, with over 6,300 views, is titled “Knights of Martyrdom” and includes several martyrdom statements, including a teenage boy who received permission from his father to be a bomber.  Further, the notorious ISIS video, “The Flames of War II” has been available for seven months on the platform and serves as a motivational video for the terror group by encouraging ISIS fighters and inspiring future overseas attacks.

To read more about this issue and see the aforementioned examples, as well as other examples of extremist content, please see the background below.

EXTREMIST FACEBOOK CONTENT

1. Exceptionally Gruesome ISIS Video On Facebook For Two Weeks With Over 500 Views

• Located on Facebook: July 18, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately two weeks
• Views: 580, 2 likes/reacts and one share
• URL: Link
• Description: ISIS video “The Tent of Muslims” from the group’s self-proclaimed province in Damascus.  The video was originally released in April 2018 and shows combat against Syrian soldiers, as well as anti-government militias.  The video also includes burned and beheaded corpses, and heads taken as trophies.   This particular version of the video has Indonesian subtitles.

 2. Recently Released ISIS Video On Facebook With Over 6,000 Views

• ​Located on Facebook: July 18, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Five days
• Views: 6,300, 69 likes/reacts and 105 shares
• URL: Link
• Description: ISIS video “Knights of Martyrdom” from the group’s self-proclaimed state in Afghanistan.  The video was originally released on July 13, 2018.  The video includes several martyrdom statements, including a teenage boy who received permission from his father to be a bomber.  The video includes a minimal amount of previously used footage and shows the aftermath of suicide bombings in Kabul. 

 3. Notorious Hour-Long ISIS Video On Facebook For Seven Months

• Located on Facebook: July 18, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately seven months
• Views: 439, 9 likes/reacts and eight shares
• URL: Link
• Description: The ISIS video “The Flames of War II”, originally released on November 29, 2017.  The video, more than 55 minutes, serves as a motivational video for the terror group by encouraging ISIS fighters and inspiring future overseas attacks.  The video’s main theme is ISIS is the “victorious group” chosen by God to triumph over its adversaries.  In addition to numerous quotes from Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the video features numerous beheadings, shootings and an immolation.

 4. ISIS Video On Facebook For One Week With Over 3,000 Views

• Located on Facebook: July 18, 2018
• Time on Facebook: One week
• Views: 3,254, 38 likes/reacts and 22 shares
• URL: Link
• Description: An ISIS video from the group’s self-proclaimed province in Sinai, titled “Millit Ibrahim,” originally released in January 2018.  The video condemns the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, declaring them an apostate movement and calls for attacks on the group.  The video includes an execution of a member of Hamas’ military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

5. ISIS Propaganda Photos Of Beheaded Taliban Members

• Located on Facebook: July 18, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Two days
• Views: N/A, 35 likes/reacts and five shares
• URL: Link
• Description: ISIS propaganda photos that show beheaded Taliban members.  The photos were released on July 16, 2018.  The photos were behind a warning label for “violent or graphic content”.

BACKGROUND

Recode Recently Interviewed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Who Reiterated The Company’s Talking Points. “I had not done a formal interview with Zuckerberg since he appeared at our D: All Things Digital conference in 2010, when the company was in its early days.  Now, Zuckerberg was ensconced in a massive building with a garden on the roof, part of an even larger campus that sprawled all over and was still growing.  Also growing?  Increased scrutiny and criticism of the social network Zuckerberg had built into a behemoth.” (Kara Swisher, “Zuckerberg: The Recode Interview,” Recode, 7/18/18

Facebook Announced New Changes For Handling Misinformation, After “Facing Growing Criticism For Posts That Have Incited Violence In Some Countries.” “Facebook, facing growing criticism for posts that have incited violence in some countries, said Wednesday that it would begin removing misinformation that could lead to people being physically harmed.  The policy expands Facebook’s rules about what type of false information it will remove, and is largely a response to episodes in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India in which rumors that spread on Facebook led to real-world attacks on ethnic minorities … Facebook has been roundly criticized over the way its platform has been used to spread hate speech and false information that prompted violence.” (Sheera Frenkel, “Facebook To Remove Misinformation That Leads To Violence,” The New York Times, 7/18/18)

Myanmar, Sri Lanka And India Have Been Facing A Torrent Of Violence As A Result Of Fake News On Facebook. “In Myanmar, Facebook has been accused by United Nations investigators and human rights groups of facilitating violence against Rohingya Muslims, a minority ethnic group, by allowing anti-Muslim hate speech and false news.  In Sri Lanka, riots broke out after false news pitted the country’s majority Buddhist community against Muslims.  Near-identical social media rumors have also led to attacks in India and Mexico.  In many cases, the rumors included no call for violence, but amplified underlying tensions.  The new rules apply to one of Facebook’s other big social media properties, Instagram, but not to WhatsApp, where false news has also circulated.  In India, for example, false rumors spread through WhatsApp about child kidnappers have led to mob violence.” (Sheera Frenkel, “Facebook To Remove Misinformation That Leads To Violence,” The New York Times, 7/18/18)

Facebook’s New Policy Does Not Apply To WhatsApp, Despite The Fact That Fake News On The Messaging Platform Have Led To Violence. “The new rules apply to one of Facebook’s other big social media properties, Instagram, but not to WhatsApp, where false news has also circulated.  In India, for example, false rumors spread through WhatsApp about child kidnappers have led to mob violence.” (Sheera Frenkel, “Facebook To Remove Misinformation That Leads To Violence,” The New York Times, 7/18/18)

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