Thu, 16 September 2021,
Facebook unveiled a new effort to fight malicious information on its platform (AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)
Facebook has launched an effort targeting users working together on the platform to promote real-world violence or conspiracy theories, beginning by taking down a German network spreading Covid misinformation.
The new tool announced Thursday is meant to detect organized, malicious efforts that are a threat but fall short of the social media giant's existing rules against hate groups, said Facebook's head of security policy Nathaniel Gleicher.
Facebook has been under relentless pressure to guard against being a platform where misinformation and hate can spread, while at the same time remain a forum for people to speak freely. It has struggled to respond.
Under the new effort, users who work together to "amplify their group's harmful behavior" and repeatedly violate the platform rules can have their accounts shut down.
Facebook is looking for groups of users that do things like "brigading," or ganging up on other accounts, to flood them with comments or complaints.
"We recognize this challenge is complex," Facebook threat disruption director David Agranovich told a press briefing.
"We need to be careful and deliberate... to distinguish between people who organically come together to organize for social change, and the types of adversarial networks that can cause social harm," he added.
A series of recent Wall Street Journal articles has cast a harsh light on the company for failing to protect teenage users of its photo app Instagram, but also for shielding VIPs from some of the network's own restrictions.
Under the new effort, Facebook has removed fewer than 150 accounts, pages, or groups operated by people associated with the Querdenken movement, which opposes anti-Covid measures like mask-wearing and lockdowns.
People behind the accounts, some of which were on Instagram, boosted content that portrayed violence as the way to overturn German government efforts against the virus, according to Facebook.
The social network cited public reports that the group took part in violence against journalists, police and medical practitioners in Germany.
The new enforcement tool will take aim at groups with histories of violating Facebook's rules and trying to dodge accountability.
Gleicher said the network has been developing this new tool since before the start of this year, as harmful social media campaigns increasingly enlisted real users to spread posts.
He noted bad actors "deliberately blur the lines" between real people expressing their ideas and deliberate manipulation, in order to be harder to catch.
gc/jm
Facebook deletes accounts of German anti-lockdown group
The tech giant says the Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement was causing "social harm" by promoting conspiracy theories against coronavirus restrictions.
The Querdenken protests have attracted a group of coronavirus skeptics and anti-vaxxers
Social media giant Facebook deleted nearly 150 accounts, pages and groups linked with Germany's Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement, the platform's representatives said on Thursday. The movement made its reputation by accusing the media and politicians of lying about the coronavirus pandemic.
"The people behind this activity used authentic and duplicate accounts to post and amplify violating content, primarily focused on promoting the conspiracy that the German government's COVID-19 restrictions are part of a larger plan to strip citizens of their freedoms and basic rights," Facebook head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, told reporters.
The clampdown included both Facebook's own platform and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. The company blocked domains linked with the movement from being shared. Accounts of Querdenken founder Michael Ballweg have also been affected.
Facebook to monitor, 'take action' if needed
The group gained popularity during anti-lockdown protests in Germany, and attracted various fringe groups including people from the far-right. At several anti-lockdown protests, police officers and journalists were attacked by the members of the movement.
According to Facebook, individuals linked with the Querdenken movement repeatedly violated the platform's standards against spreading health misinformation, incitement of violence, bullying, harassment and hate speech. Gleicher said the group was causing "coordinated social harm."
However, Facebook said it was not banning all Querdenken content. The company was "continuing to monitor the situation and will take action" if necessary, according to Facebook representative Gleicher.
Deleted from YouTube
The clampdown is the first time Facebook is taking action against the so-called "social harm" campaigns. Such campaigns "typically involve networks of primarily authentic users who organize to systematically violate our policies to cause harm on or off our platform," Gleicher said.
In May this year, YouTube removed the Querdenken 711 channel with its parent company Google accusing it of violating YouTube's misinformation guidelines.
The tech giant says the Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement was causing "social harm" by promoting conspiracy theories against coronavirus restrictions.
The Querdenken protests have attracted a group of coronavirus skeptics and anti-vaxxers
Social media giant Facebook deleted nearly 150 accounts, pages and groups linked with Germany's Querdenken (Lateral Thinking) movement, the platform's representatives said on Thursday. The movement made its reputation by accusing the media and politicians of lying about the coronavirus pandemic.
"The people behind this activity used authentic and duplicate accounts to post and amplify violating content, primarily focused on promoting the conspiracy that the German government's COVID-19 restrictions are part of a larger plan to strip citizens of their freedoms and basic rights," Facebook head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, told reporters.
The clampdown included both Facebook's own platform and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook. The company blocked domains linked with the movement from being shared. Accounts of Querdenken founder Michael Ballweg have also been affected.
Facebook to monitor, 'take action' if needed
The group gained popularity during anti-lockdown protests in Germany, and attracted various fringe groups including people from the far-right. At several anti-lockdown protests, police officers and journalists were attacked by the members of the movement.
According to Facebook, individuals linked with the Querdenken movement repeatedly violated the platform's standards against spreading health misinformation, incitement of violence, bullying, harassment and hate speech. Gleicher said the group was causing "coordinated social harm."
However, Facebook said it was not banning all Querdenken content. The company was "continuing to monitor the situation and will take action" if necessary, according to Facebook representative Gleicher.
Deleted from YouTube
The clampdown is the first time Facebook is taking action against the so-called "social harm" campaigns. Such campaigns "typically involve networks of primarily authentic users who organize to systematically violate our policies to cause harm on or off our platform," Gleicher said.
In May this year, YouTube removed the Querdenken 711 channel with its parent company Google accusing it of violating YouTube's misinformation guidelines.
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