Finally bowing to the pressure from various quarters, Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) agreed to remove the posts that incite violence. The social media giant is facing a lot of criticism from across the world for posts that cause violence. They also face a lot of wrath from the government for their touted interference in elections in the US to help Donald Trump in 2016.
In 2018, a Muslim woman in Myanmar accused Facebook of inciting violence because it is allowing hate speech on the Rohingya community on its platform. According to her, many Muslims in that nation are attacked because of hate speech posts.
Facebook will keep the posts of politicians even if they violate community standards. If the content in politicians’ posts has a safety risk or could incite violence, Facebook will remove such posts. The political ads should comply with Facebook terms and conditions.
Facebook to retain posts with insensitive comments
The social media platform will retain politician posts that comprise cruel or callous content. It will also keep posts with graphic content if they are safe.
Nick Clegg, Head (Global Affairs) at Facebook, said the company has taken a stance about its preparations for the presidential elections in the US on November 2020.
Twitter announced on June 2019 that it would detect and remove the posts violating its rules. But, it will keep the posts submitted by government officials and politicians. Twitter will flag the offending tweets for action by the users. They have clicked the link and take action.
Facebook to keep newsworthy posts
According to a communicative from a spokeswoman of Facebook, it will keep the newsworthy posts of politicians and will not label them to show that they violated the rules. Clegg, who held the position of Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, said Facebook would not send the original content posted by the politicians for verification by independent fact-checkers. Instead, the company will demote and debunk the previously shared political content.
The third-party fact-checking program of Facebook is in place to de-emphasize and label the content. It prevents access to false information. The company will apply the global policy to all the politicians at the national, executive, and regional levels.
