Tue Nov 05 02:58:43 UTC 2024: ## Facebook Fails to Curb Hate Speech Ahead of US Election, Researchers Say

**LOS ANGELES – November 5, 2024** – A new study by Global Witness reveals Facebook, owned by Meta, is struggling to effectively address hate speech on its platform, raising concerns ahead of the US election. Researchers analyzed 200,000 comments on the pages of 67 US Senate candidates between September 6 and October 6, finding that Facebook took days to respond to flagged hate speech.

The researchers flagged 14 particularly egregious comments that targeted Muslim and Jewish people and made dehumanizing remarks about a candidate’s sexual orientation. While some of these comments were removed after Global Witness contacted Meta directly, several remained on the platform, indicating a breakdown in the platform’s hate speech detection system.

This finding comes amid ongoing criticism of Meta for failing to adequately address hate speech and misinformation across its platforms during elections worldwide.

“There was a real failure to promptly review these posts,” said Ellen Judson, a researcher with Global Witness. “Online abuse can have a negative psychological impact and make people reconsider being in politics. Seeing this kind of discourse can also deter others from participating in public life.”

Meta, however, claims its efforts to combat hate speech are effective, citing the removal of millions of pieces of content for violating its policies. The company also insists that the relevance of hate speech content on its platform is very low.

However, experts argue that Meta’s automated systems are prone to errors and miss many instances of hate speech, especially those using slang or oblique language. They also point to the platform’s hesitancy to remove content due to concerns about engagement levels.

The lack of transparency regarding Meta’s hate speech detection and response mechanisms further fuels concerns. Researchers are demanding more data and information from Meta to assess the true scale of the problem and the effectiveness of their solutions.

This report underscores the ongoing challenges faced by social media platforms in creating a healthy information ecosystem during elections, especially in the face of rising concerns about the impact of online hate speech and misinformation.

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