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The so-called ‘Facebook Papers’ leaked by a whistleblower has revealed how the social media platform failed to curb hate speech, misinformation and inflammatory posts against Muslims in India. There have long been concerns on the impact of spreading hate speech that fuels violence and the growing resentment against Muslims in the neigbouring country.
The leaked files reveal that Facebook was has been aware for years of hate speech on social media that has been stoking violence in India. In some cases, Facebook’s algorithm appeared to have intensified hate speech and misinformation. The company identified India as one of the most ‘at-risk’ countries, yet did not have enough local moderators to control the inflammatory content.
There was a surge in content targeting Muslims after an attack in Occupied Kashmir in 2019 killing dozens of Indian soldiers that brought India and Pakistan close to war. Soon after, social media was flooded with fake news, misinformation and graphic violence as clashes on the streets left dozens of people dead. There was an influx in anti-Pakistani rhetoric and Islamophobic content.
What is more shocking is the Facebook’s algorithms started showing similar content. One researcher described that he had seen images of more dead people in three weeks than his entire life. This was worsened by Facebook’s failure to have enough resources in local Indian languages and lack of cultural sensitivity.
This establishes that Indian users have been spreading a vast amount of fake news and violent content. The problem is much greater as hate speech is rife in India and groups are filled with such content. Many fake accounts and bots are linked to Indian political parties and leaders. Disinformation is a carefully organised operation there and apprehensions that Facebook and social media companies have been favouring the fascist BJP are gaining ground.
India is undoubtedly Facebook’s biggest market but this does justify the platform being the carrier of fake news and rumours. Indian social media is a polarizing and dark place as trolls routinely target minorities and women. We witnessed how an Indian cricketer faced online abuse and was targeted for being a Muslim after India lost a cricket match to Pakistan. Social media platforms need to tackle hate speech rather than being used by fascist regimes to spread their Hindutva ideology.
