Facebook's stated goal of connecting the world has had a negative affect in some places where "misinformation and hate speech" have led to "riots and lynchings" in "countries with weak institutions," according to The New York Times.
"Time and again, communal hatreds overrun the newsfeed — the primary portal for news and information for many users — unchecked as local media are displaced by Facebook and governments find themselves with little leverage over the company," according to the Times report. "Some users, energized by hate speech and misinformation, plot real-world attacks."
Facebook memes and posts in hostile areas represent "the embers beneath the ashes," H.M. Lal, a cousin of a Sri Lanka violence victim, told the Times.
"We don't completely blame Facebook," Sri Lankan president adviser Harindra Dissanayake told the Times. "The germs are ours, but Facebook is the wind, you know?"
For its alleged role in stirring up hostility a Facebook spokeswoman emailed the Times the company is "building up teams that deal with reported content" and spending more to bolster "technology and local language expertise to help us swiftly remove hate content."
"But where institutions are weak or undeveloped, Facebook's newsfeed can inadvertently amplify dangerous tendencies," according to the Times. "Designed to maximize user time on site, it promotes whatever wins the most attention. Posts that tap into negative, primal emotions like anger or fear, studies have found, produce the highest engagement, and so proliferate.
"In the Western countries for which Facebook was designed, this leads to online arguments, angry identity politics and polarization. But in developing countries, Facebook is often perceived as synonymous with the Internet and reputable sources are scarce, allowing emotionally charged rumors to run rampant. Shared among trusted friends and family members, they can become conventional wisdom.
"And where people do not feel they can rely on the police or courts to keep them safe, research shows, panic over a perceived threat can lead some to take matters into their own hands — to lynch."
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