Facebook plans to crack down on hate speech

Most of us can remember seeing racist, tribal, hate etc rants on our Facebook feed at some point (and if you can’t, you’re probably the one posting them).

But now site founder Mark Zuckerberg wants to crack down on hate speech against especially migrants, saying they are part of a group which needs protection.

Speaking to 1,000 students at a ‘town hall’ session in Berlin, he addressed concerns that the social network isn’t doing enough to prevent hate-filled posts appearing.

You know, things like these comments predicting civil war in Europe: Unfortunately, comments promoting genocide aren’t ever so difficult to find.

Some people have contrasted this with the fact Facebook is quick to act on explicit sexual content – even being heavyhanded at times, such as when moderators blocked an 1866 oil painting.

Germany’s ministry of justice said the site removed sexual imagery faster than racist messages, even though the country has strict laws against hate speech. When asked about the site’s policy at the meeting, the BBC reported Zuckerberg said: ‘There’s not a place for this kind of content on Facebook.
‘Learning more about German culture and law has led us to change the approach.

‘Hate speech against migrants is an important part of what we now have no tolerance for on Facebook.’

However, he didn’t go into detail about how to police that content.