Facebook Abuse Under Continued Scrutiny As Investigation Into Company Expands

(New York, NY) -- As families in the United States celebrated Independence Day this week, authorities were on high alert for terror suspects seeking to disrupt the festivities. For example, in Cleveland, Ohio, FBI officials arrested Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq, who allegedly plotted a bombing of the city’s Fourth of July parade. Rahfeeq is suspected of having ties of al-Qaeda, and his Facebook account was found to be awash with terrorist propaganda that also encouraged Muslims to learn how to use guns and other weapons.

In India, fake messages on WhatsApp, a messaging platform owned by Facebook, have cost dozens of people their lives in mob lynchings. The messages have falsely accused certain individuals and groups of child-trafficking, leading to residents in the areas to take matters into their own hands.

With authorities attempting to crack down on the violence, many are looking to Big Tech to combat terrorists’ use of social media once and for all. However, Facebook is dealing with another set of problems.  The company is under growing scrutiny from government officials, including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, due to its recent data scandals, including the Cambridge Analytica incident.  Most recently, Facebook admitted to giving 61 companies special access to user data the company previously claimed was restricted. Lawmakers would be wise to use this opportunity and ongoing discussion to hold Facebook accountable for the persistent terrorist propaganda and fake news on its platform, and call for the tech giant to stop making misleading statements, offering excuses and issuing apologies, and solve the problem.

And while Facebook has claimed time and again that it has vastly improved its efforts in removing extremist content and fake news from its platforms, findings by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) continue to say otherwise. Numerous videos depicting acts of violence and posts calling for organized terrorism from ISIS persist across Facebook’s platforms. An ISIS propaganda video from the group’s self-proclaimed Bayda province in Yemen, viewed over 100 times, calls for acts of violence and shows an execution by handgun. Another, this time a fan made ISIS video viewed by over 800 times, depicts executions and beheadings.

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

EXTREMIST FACEBOOK CONTENT

1. ISIS Propaganda Video That Shows Executions

• ​Located on Facebook: July 3, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately two days
• Views: 102 views, four shares and 32 likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Description: ISIS propaganda video from the group’s self-proclaimed Bayda province in Yemen.  The video, “Habitat of Good Things,” was originally released on May 16, 2018.  The video features ISIS fighters in Yemen and calls for the viewer to engage in violent struggle.  One of the fighters interviewed states that “jihad is more important than prayer” (paraphrase).  The video shows combat between ISIS and Yemeni government forces and concludes with a wheelchair-bound ISIS fighter executing a captured Yemeni soldier with a handgun.

2. ​ISIS Video With More Than 300 Views

• Located on Facebook: July 3, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Three days
• Views: 339, 11 shares and 11 likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Description: An Indonesian-subtitled version of the ISIS video “Inside the Caliphate 7,” originally released in February 2018.  The video shows Kurdish troops being taken prisoner, allegedly to be exchanged for ISIS women in Kurdish custody.  The video additionally features a wheelchair-bound suicide bomber who is filmed saying goodbye to his daughter and nephew before detonating an explosives laden vehicle.  The video features several suicide bombings and shows the dragging of Kurdish fighters behind vehicles.  The narrator declares that ISIS fighters “will not surrender, ever.”

3. Fan Made ISIS Propaganda Video On Facebook For One Month With 800 Views

• Located on Facebook: July 3, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately one month
• Views: 814, 12 shares and 22 likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Description: A fan made ISIS propaganda video that includes beheadings and suicide bombings. 

4. ISIS Execution On Facebook For One Month With 500 Views

• Located on Facebook: July 3, 2018
• Time on Facebook: One month
• Views: 504, one share and 17 likes/reacts
• URL: Link
• Description: A clip taken from a longer ISIS video that shows the execution of a Shia man with a hand gun.

BACKGROUND

The FBI Arrested A Cleveland Man For Allegedly Plotting To Bomb The City’s Fourth Of July Parade. “The FBI has arrested a man who plotted to set off a bomb during downtown Cleveland’s Fourth of July parade.  Demetrius Pitts, 48 – also known as Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq – was arrested Sunday and is believed to have ties to al-Qaeda, the FBI said at a press conference Monday morning.” (Carson Kessler, “Al-Qaeda Supporter Planned To Bomb Downtown Cleveland On 4th Of July,” Fortune, 7/2/18)

Dozens In India Have Been Killed Due To Violent Messages Spreading Through Social Media. “More than a dozen people have been killed across India since May in violence fueled primarily by fake social media messages, as officials struggle to rein in this growing technology-driven menace.  The perpetrators are largely villagers, some of whom may be using smartphones for the first time.  Inflamed by fake warnings of child-trafficking rings or organ harvesters sent via the WhatsApp messaging service, they have resorted to vigilante justice – attacking and beating to death people who often were innocent.” (Annie Gowen, “As Mob Lynchings Fueled By WhatsApp Messages Sweet India, Authorities Struggle To Combat Fake News,” The Washington Post, 7/2/18)

A Government Probe Into The Cambridge Analytica Scandal Has Brought Even Further Scrutiny Into Facebook’s Business Practices. “A federal investigation into Facebook’s sharing of data with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica has broadened to focus on the actions and statements of the tech giant and now involves multiple agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the official inquiries.” (Craig Timberg, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett, “Facebook’s Disclosures Under Scrutiny As Federal Agencies Join Probe Of Tech Giant’s Role In Sharing Data With Cambridge Analytica,” The Washington Post, 7/2/18)

DOJ, FBI, SEC & FTC Are All Looking Into Facebook’s Data Privacy Blunders. “Facebook is facing a ballooning federal probe into its data practices and failure to secure user information against improper use by Trump campaign-linked Cambridge Analytica.  The DOJ, FBI, SEC and FTC have now reached out to the social media giant with questions about the Cambridge controversy – requests Facebook has complied with, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to POLITICO.” (Cristiano Lima, “Facebook, Cambridge Probe Widens,” Politico, 7/3/18)

Facebook Has Disclosed That It Has 61 “Special Deals” In Place With Companies To Share User Data. “Facebook Inc. disclosed it gave dozens of companies special access to user data, detailing for the first time a spate of deals that contrasted with the social network’s previous public statements that it restricted personal information to outsiders in 2015.  The deals with app developers, device and software makers – described in a 747 page document released to Congress late on Friday – represent Facebook’s most granular explanation of exemptions that previously had been revealed by The Wall Street Journal and other news organizations … The disclosure follows a Journal article in June that reported Facebook struck customized data-sharing deals that gave select companies such as Nissan Motor Co. access to user records for their apps well after the point in 2015 when it said it walled off that information. Nissan is listed in Friday’s document.” (Georgia Wells, “Facebook Reveals Apps, Others That Got Special Access to User Data,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/1/18)

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