Facebook to Curb Hate Speech and Misinformation as States Go to Polls

Facebook has been under fire globally for alleged lapses in controlling hate speech.

Updated: 31 March 2021 13:33 IST

Facebook to Curb Hate Speech and Misinformation as States Go to Polls

Facebook has also designed Election Day reminders to give voters accurate information

Highlights

Facebook's lobbyist quit after a report suggested Facebook favoured BJP
Opposition parties questioned the company's policy following the report
Facebook will significantly reduce the distribution of content

Facebook said it was taking steps to combat hate speech and misinformation in India as the world's biggest democracy started its months-long multi-phase elections in four big states.

"We recognise that there are certain types of content, such as hate speech, that could lead to imminent, offline harm," the social networking giant said in a blog post dated March 30.

India is Facebook's biggest market by users. Its WhatsApp chat service is among the most popular in the country, counting around 500 million users alone.

BolSubol Mobile App to Show Poll Statistics, Economic Data

Facebook has been under fire globally for alleged lapses in controlling hate speech. In the United States, the social media giant put a months-long freeze on political, electoral and social ads to crack down on misinformation and abuses around the November 3 presidential elections.

In India, the company's top lobbyist quit last year after a Wall Street Journal report suggested the way the social media network regulated political content in the country favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party.

Opposition parties questioned the company's policy following the report, but the Menlo Park, California-based company maintained "remains committed to be an open and transparent platform."

Twitter Launches New Initiatives Ahead of Assembly Elections in India

Elections in the states of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, and union territory Puducherry are a test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity amid a raging protest by farmers against new agricultural laws that have sparked outcry at home and abroad.

"To decrease the risk of problematic content going viral in these states and potentially inciting violence ahead of or during the election, we will significantly reduce the distribution of content that our proactive detection technology identifies as likely hate speech or violence and incitement," Facebook said.

It has also designed Election Day reminders to give voters accurate information and encourage them to share it with friends on Facebook and WhatsApp, the company said.

© Thomson Reuters 2021

Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, has a double bill this week: the OnePlus 9 series, and Justice League Snyder Cut (starting at 25:32). Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.