Share This Article on Social Media 😊
Study: White Supremacist Groups Are ‘Thriving’ On Facebook, Despite Extremist Ban
With many Americans vulnerable to fascist ideologies during the pandemic, the study warns, Facebook could be fertile ground for recruitment.
A new study reported that white supremacist groups are “thriving” on Facebook, despite repeated assurances from the company that it doesn’t allow extremists on its platform.
The watchdog group Tech Transparency Project released a study Thursday that found more than 100 white supremacist groups had a presence on Facebook.
Project researchers identified 221 white supremacist groups — using information collected by Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, two of America’s most prominent anti-hate organizations — and searched for those groups on Facebook.
About 50% of the groups were present on the platform, the study said.
Of the 113 white supremacist groups the project found on Facebook, 36% had pages or groups created by active users. The remaining 64% had a page auto-generated by Facebook itself.
“With millions of people now quarantining at home and vulnerable to ideologies that seek to exploit people’s fears and resentments about COVID-19, Facebook’s failure to remove white supremacist groups could give these organizations fertile new ground to attract followers,” TTP’s study said.
The study comes after years of rising white nationalism in the U.S. and heightened scrutiny over social media companies’ role in providing online spaces for hate groups to spread their propaganda, to organize and to recruit.
There was a Facebook event page, after all, for the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. And a white supremacist gunman live-streamed on Facebook as he massacred 51 people at two New Zealand mosques early last year. (The company later said it had removed 1.5 million videos of the mass shooting.)
SOURCE ⇒ HUFFPOST
Consider supporting AMIBC™. Contribute by clicking on the advertisers and sponsors featured on AMIBC™ and please utilize them. Readers from around the world, like you, make our work possible. We need your support to deliver quality, vetted, investigative journalism – and to keep it open for everyone. At a time when factual, honest reporting is critical, your support is essential in protecting our editorial independence.
The narratives and issues impacting all Americans is tantamount to the AMIBC™ platform. Every contribution, however big or small, is valuable for our future. Make sure to join the AMIBC Founders Club to maximize the total advantage of being a subscriber.
