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70% of top "civic" Facebook groups are toxic or violent, report finds
ARS Technica
KATE COX - 2/1/2021, 2:16 PM
Internal report found top civic groups "non-recommendable" due to hate, harassment.
As Facebook scrambles to deal with its most problematic groups in the wake of January's assault on the US Capitol, a new report finds that leaders inside the company knew as long ago as August that 70 percent of its top "civic" groups had too much hate speech, misinformation, violent rhetoric, or other toxic behavior to be recommended to other users.
Researchers inside the company warned executives months ago that top groups were plagued with misinformation and calls to violence, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. "We need to do something to stop these conversations from happening and growing as quickly as they do," the researchers wrote in internal documents obtained by the WSJ.
Of the top 100 most-active US civic groups, 70 percent "are considered non-recommendable for issues such as hate, misinfo, bullying, and harassment," the presentation said. "Our existing integrity systems aren't addressing these issues."
Facebook deliberately pivoted in 2019 to make groups the centerpiece of its service—literally, on its mobile apps. But issues with groups plagued the platform for years before that. Although many Facebook groups are indeed small, relatively congenial, and beneficial to their users, both civil rights advocates and Facebook's own researchers have warned for years that the way groups are managed and recommended to users increases extremism and radicalization.
Admitting you have a problem
In the days after the insurrection at the Capitol, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg downplayed concerns that Facebook played any role in bringing the mob together.
Researchers inside the company warned executives months ago that top groups were plagued with misinformation and calls to violence, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. "We need to do something to stop these conversations from happening and growing as quickly as they do," the researchers wrote in internal documents obtained by the WSJ.
Of the top 100 most-active US civic groups, 70 percent "are considered non-recommendable for issues such as hate, misinfo, bullying, and harassment," the presentation said. "Our existing integrity systems aren't addressing these issues."
Facebook deliberately pivoted in 2019 to make groups the centerpiece of its service—literally, on its mobile apps. But issues with groups plagued the platform for years before that. Although many Facebook groups are indeed small, relatively congenial, and beneficial to their users, both civil rights advocates and Facebook's own researchers have warned for years that the way groups are managed and recommended to users increases extremism and radicalization.
Admitting you have a problem
In the days after the insurrection at the Capitol, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg downplayed concerns that Facebook played any role in bringing the mob together.
Read more at link: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/02/70-of-top-civic-facebook-groups-are-toxic-or-violent-report-finds/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_source=twitter&utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social
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