SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) – On Friday (July 2), a Facebook test of pop-up boxes asking people if they think their friends are becoming radicals aroused fears among US conservatives who feared their views might be muzzled. The alerts stemmed from a Facebook initiative to combat violent extremism and hazardous organizations, according to Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a Twitter exchange.
According to Facebook, the “Redirect Initiative” features are designed to direct users who search for hate- or violence-related phrases to resources, education, or outreach groups that promote more peaceful outcomes.
For example, Facebook claims that searches for white supremacy in the United States are directed to a crisis counseling group called Life After Hate.
Users were asked if they were concerned that someone they knew was becoming an extremist or if they had been exposed to extremist content in images of the alerts shared on Twitter.
People could choose to “get support” by clicking a link or just closing the pop-up box.
Nicholas Freitas, a Republican state legislator from Virginia, was among those who shared a screenshot of the Facebook notice on Twitter.
“I’m concerned that some socialist technocrats are fostering an Orwellian climate in which people are unjustly silenced or prohibited for expressing anything the ‘thought police’ doesn’t like,” Freitas wrote in the essay.
Facebook and other internet platforms have been under fire for spreading disinformation and postings that lead to physical violence.
The social media behemoth has improved automatic technologies to aid group moderators in keeping debates respectful in a time of divergent perspectives.
Facebook’s automated systems monitor posts in groups and news feeds to see if they breach the platform’s content guidelines.
Facebook banned former US president Donald Trump for two years in June, claiming he merited the harshest penalty for breaking platform rules in the aftermath of a deadly attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Trump was banned from Facebook and Instagram after making a video in which he told his enraged supporters, “We love you, you’re very unique,” after an attack by his angry supporters protesting his election defeat.
The penalty took effect on January 7, when Trump was kicked off the social media giant, and came after Facebook’s independent monitoring board recommended that the indefinite ban imposed previously be reviewed.
“Given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr Trump’s suspension, we think his conduct constituted a serious violation of our rules that justify the most severe punishment allowed under the new enforcement methods,” Facebook vice president of global affairs Nick Clegg wrote in a post.
Facebook also stated that politicians will no longer be granted blanket protection for false or abusive content just because their opinions are noteworthy./n
