In just 21 days, Facebook led new India user to gore, fake news


Facebook was well aware that hate speech was spreading on its site in India which could exacerbate ethnic violence, and did not deploy resources to curb the phenomenon, US media reported on Oct 24, 2021, citing internal documents. — AFP

In February 2019, Facebook Inc set up a test account in India to determine how its own algorithms affect what people see in one of its fastest growing and most important overseas markets. The results stunned the company’s own staff.

Within three weeks, the new user’s feed turned into a maelstrom of fake news and incendiary images. There were graphic photos of beheadings, doctored images of India air strikes against Pakistan and jingoistic scenes of violence. One group for “things that make you laugh” included fake news of 300 terrorists who died in a bombing in Pakistan.

The Star Christmas Special Promo: Save 35% OFF Yearly. T&C applies.

Monthly Plan

RM 13.90/month

Best Value

Annual Plan

RM 12.33/month

RM 8.02/month

Billed as RM 96.20 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter.

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Tech News

AI data centers are forcing dirty ‘peaker’ power plants back into service
Paramount's new offer for Warner Bros is not sufficient, major investor says
After power outage, San Francisco wonders: Can robot taxis handle a big earthquake?
Amazon's Zoox to recall 332 US vehicles over software error
Uber and Lyft plan to bring robotaxis to London in partnerships with China's Baidu
Vodafone CEO among UK bosses who see AI, cyberattacks as top 2026 risks
China delays plans for mass production of self-driving cars after accident
Malaysian students win gold at International Robot Olympiad with Mars-exploration robot concept
Leica rolls out firmware update for its SL-System and Q3 camera family
China’s weather superpower bid takes aim at top AI model dataset

Others Also Read