Facebook sees increase in users promoting violent events

A man breaks a window as a mob of Trump supporters storm the US Capitol Building in Washington, US. Facebook has banned ‘over 250 white supremacist groups’ from its services, and is working to ‘prohibit QAnon and militia groups from organising on our platform’, the spokeswoman said. — Reuters

Facebook Inc said an increasing number of users are posting fliers and images using violent or incendiary language to promote gatherings across the country over the next week, echoing warnings from law enforcement that there could be another attack similar to last week’s riot at the US Capitol.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the social network is tracking “dozens” of fliers promoting events on Jan 17, Jan 18 and Jan 20, the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. The company is removing the postings using image recognition technology, and many of the images calling for the gatherings in Washington and elsewhere have been flagged to Facebook by a group of partner organisations that track terrorism and cybercrime.