Facebook accused of introducing jihadis to one another through ‘suggested friends’ feature

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We are seeing an unprecedented erosion in our First Amendment rights, increasingly prohibiting the flow of ideas and free expression in the public square (social media). Run by left-wing self-possessed snowflakes, social media giants are indulging their worst autocratic impulses. And because they can, it is getting worse. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This story provides abundant evidence of that: Facebook energetically bans and chokes off voices that dissent from the hard-left agenda, but allowed jihadis to proliferate, and enabled them to meet each other.

Anti-trust legislation to break up Facebook is urgently needed.

“Facebook accused of introducing extremists to one another through ‘suggested friends’ feature,” by Martin Evans, Telegraph, May 5, 2018 (thanks to Vikram):

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Facebook has helped introduce thousands of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) extremists to one another, via its ‘suggested friends’ feature, it can be revealed.

The social media giant – which is already under fire for failing to remove terrorist material from its platform – is now accused of actively connecting jihadists around the world, allowing them to develop fresh terror networks and even recruit new members to their cause.

Researchers, who analysed the Facebook activities of a thousand Isil supporters in 96 countries, discovered users with radical Islamist sympathies were routinely introduced to one another through the popular ‘suggested friends’ feature.

Using sophisticated algorithms, Facebook is designed to connect people who share common interests.

The site automatically collects a vast amount of personal information about its users, which is then used to target advertisements and also direct people towards others on the network they might wish to connect with.

But without effective checks on what information is being shared, terrorists are able to exploit the site to contact and communicate with sympathisers and supporters.

The extent to which the ‘suggested friend’ feature is helping Isil members on Facebook is highlighted in a new study, the findings of which will be published later this month in an extensive report by the Counter Extremism Project a non profit that has called on tech companies to do more to remove known extremist and terrorist material online.

Gregory Waters, one of the authors of the report, described how he was bombarded by suggestions for pro-Isil friends, after making contact with one active extremist on the site.

Even more concerning was the response his fellow researcher, Robert Postings, got when he clicked on several non-extremist news pages about an Islamist uprising in the Philippines.

Within hours he had been inundated with friend suggestions for dozens of extremists based in that region.

Mr Postings said: “Facebook, in their desire to connect as many people as possible have inadvertently created a system which helps connect extremists and terrorists.”

Once initial introductions are made the failure of Facebook to tackle extremist content on the site means Jihadists can quickly radicalise susceptible targets.

In one example uncovered by the researchers, an Indonesian Isil supporter sent a friend request to a non-Muslim user in New York in March 2017.

During the initial exchange the American user explained that he was not religious , but had an interest in Islam.

Over the following weeks and months the Indonesian user began sending increasingly radical messages and links including pro-Isil propaganda, all of which were liked by his target.

Mr Postings said: “Over a period of six months the [US based user] went from having no clear religion to becoming a radicalised Muslim supporting Isil.”

The study also examined the extent to which Facebook was failing to tackle terrorist material on its site.

Of the 1,000 Isil supporting profiles examined by researchers, less than half of the accounts had been suspended by Facebook six months later.

Mr Posting said: “Removing profiles that disseminate IS propaganda, calls for attacks and otherwise support the group is important…the fact that the majority of pro-IS profiles in this database have gone unremoved by Facebook is exceptionally concerning.”…

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fred fritz
fred fritz
5 years ago

Gosh! I guess I should have been a budding jihadi, then I wouldn’t have been banned for life from FB. Not Really….I consider it an honor to have been bounced from that cesspool of BS and IMAM SUCKERBERG induced hatred.

He needs to rename it JIHADBOOK, so it would more closely resemble it’s true purpose.

R. Arandas
R. Arandas
5 years ago
Reply to  fred fritz

In the past, I tried to report a profile with an Islamic State flag several times, Facebook calmly refused to do anything.

fred fritz
fred fritz
5 years ago

Gosh! I guess I should have been a budding jihadi, then I wouldn’t have been banned for life from FB. Not Really….I consider it an honor to have been bounced from that cesspool of BS and IMAM SUCKERBERG induced hatred.

He needs to rename it JIHADBOOK, so it would more closely resemble it’s true purpose.

fred fritz
fred fritz
5 years ago

Gosh! I guess I should have been a budding jihadi, then I wouldn’t have been banned for life from FB. Not Really….I consider it an honor to have been bounced from that cesspool of BS and IMAM SUCKERBERG induced hatred.

He needs to rename it JIHADBOOK, so it would more closely resemble it’s true purpose.

Thomas Faddis
Thomas Faddis
5 years ago

So Britain can find and arrest good people speaking the truth about islam & our own fbi can corruptly hate and fish for something on Trump (for over a Year and 10’s of millions of dollars!), but Nobody can find these terrorist jihadis, WHY T F am I Not surprise??!!!

Ziggy46
Ziggy46
5 years ago
Reply to  Thomas Faddis

Facebook is no for the mindless, the gullible and of course, those bent on the eradication of the West, Israel, obviously Judaism, Christianity, and faiths except Islam. The latter is no more than a barbarous cult whose base is depravity and an insatiable thirst for the blood of non-Muslims. Zuckerberg and his tag-along drones are an Enemy of the State and Western Civilization; not to overlook the already mentioned, FBI, DOJ, Clintons, Soros, Obama and a myriad of other being enabled by the previously stated.

Dick Bates
Dick Bates
5 years ago

Join the class action lawsuit against facesuck @:
Blood,Hurst,&O’Reardon
LLP . 619-338-1100

Dick Bates
Dick Bates
5 years ago

Pam , All I’m going to say is DEATH TO ISLAM because your disqus censored my last post and removed it SNEAKILY !

Mahou Shoujo
Mahou Shoujo
5 years ago

face book is above the law, stop wasting time with articles on it, as nothing will ever be done.

R. Arandas
R. Arandas
5 years ago

Facebook seems more and more corrupt and dangerous with each single passing day.

AlgorithmicAnalystD
AlgorithmicAnalyst
5 years ago

Fakebook must be laughing all the way to the bank at the way they conned Congress, as Congress doesn’t have a clue what is really going on. For example, the default settings are all in the company’s favor, and it is like rocket science to figure out what is going on and to change them. Then, after you do, they change things around again, and you have to start all over.

Alleged-Comment
Alleged-Comment
5 years ago

The little moe’ron Jew don’t get it. This kind of stuff only works in America and Christian nations. Yet, these are the very countries the little Jew does not support.

Drew the Infidel
Drew the Infidel
5 years ago

But just try positing a conservative or pro-Trump viewpoint and see how quickly you get squelched.

iprazhm
iprazhm
5 years ago

Yet Facebook violates no laws. It’s owner is merely enjoying his constitutional rights as a business. What should really worry patriots and ‘woke’ people, is that a vast majority of U.S citizens are gladly choosing to give up their constitutional rights to wallow in Facebook’s evil. They choose to give facebook their privacy, time, minds and huge chunk of their lives. They choose tyranny. They crave it.

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