The Associated PressMar 24, 2021 10:04:09 AM IST
A new external report found that Facebook has allowed groups – many linked to QAnon, Boogaloo, and militia movements – to glorify violence during the 2020 election and in the weeks leading up to the deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol in January. Avaaz, a nonprofit advocacy group committed to protecting democracies from misinformation, identified 267 sites and groups on Facebook that reported violent material to be distributed to a combined following of 32 million users in the heat of the 2020 election.
More than two-thirds of the groups and sites had names consistent with several domestic extremist movements, the report said. The first, Boogaloo, is fueling a second U.S. Civil War and the collapse of modern society. The second is the QAnon conspiracy, which claims that Donald Trump is waging a secret battle against the “deep state” and a sect of powerful pedophiles who worship Satan and dominate Hollywood, big business, the media and government. The rest are various anti-government militias. Everyone has been largely banned from Facebook since 2020.
Despite the cases that Avaaz described as “clear violations” of Facebook guidelines, it turned out that 119 of these pages and groups were still active on the platform as of February 24 and had almost 27 million followers. Facebook said late Monday that of the 119 Avaaz found, only 18 “actually violated” Facebook’s guidelines. Four were removed before Monday and Facebook has now removed the remaining 14.
Facebook admitted that enforcement of its policies is “not perfect” but said the report skewed its work on violent extremism and misinformation.
The company said in a statement that it had done more than any other internet company to stop the flow of harmful material, citing its bans on “nearly 900 militarized social movements” and the removal of tens of thousands of QAnon sites – Groups and accounts. It added that it is constantly improving its misinformation efforts.
On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai will testify to the congress about extremism and misinformation on their platforms.
Last year, Facebook tightened its rules against violence, hatred and misinformation. In October, it banned QAnon groups from its platform. Previously, they were only removed if they specifically supported violence. It has also banned extremist and militia movements and boogaloo groups with varying degrees of success.
For example, while Facebook banned “Stop the Steal” groups from its platform, Avaaz – like The Associated Press – found that such groups and the hashtag #stopthesteal remained active on the platform after the cleanup.
Facebook’s failures, Avaaz said, “helped move America from election to insurrection.”
According to the report, the social network provided “fertile ground” for misinformation and toxicity that contributed to the radicalization of millions of Americans and helped create the conditions in which the Capitol storm became a reality.
