Facebook and tech giants to target attacker manifestos, far-right militias in database

FILE PHOTO: A member with the Three Percenters militia provides security for a "Patriot Day 2nd Amendment Rally" in support of gun rights at the State Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S. May 24, 2020. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston/File Photo

(Reuters) -A counterterrorism organization formed by some of the biggest U.S. tech companies including Facebook and Microsoft is significantly expanding the types of extremist content shared between firms in a key database, aiming to crack down on material from white supremacists and far-right militias, the group told Reuters.

Until now, the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism's (GIFCT) database has focused on videos and images from terrorist groups on a United Nations list and so has largely consisted of content from Islamist extremist organizations such as Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban.