https://arab.news/52hsd
- Report claims Facebook鈥檚 algorithm fueled hate speech and misinformation
- Platform responsible under international human rights standards, Amnesty International says
LONDON: Human rights group Amnesty International has demanded Meta be held accountable for its role in the persecution of the Rohingya minority group in Myanmar.
The group said that Meta鈥檚 platform, Facebook, had a part to play in the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya by amplifying hate speech and misinformation.
鈥淪ix years have gone by since Meta contributed to the terrible atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya people,鈥� said Pat de Brun, head of Big Tech Accountability at Amnesty International.
鈥淵et, although this stands out as one of the most egregious examples of a social media company鈥檚 involvement in a human rights crisis, the Rohingya are still awaiting reparations from Meta.鈥�
On the sixth anniversary of the Myanmar military鈥檚 brutal operation, the group said that Meta鈥檚 algorithm played a significant role in creating 鈥渁n echo chamber that helped foment hatred of the Rohingya people,鈥� and accused the tech giant of prioritising profits over people.
It said that Meta鈥檚 role in the 2017 atrocities in Rakhine state contributed to 鈥渟erious adverse human rights impacts suffered by the Rohingya,鈥� making the tech giant responsible for providing an 鈥渆ffective remedy鈥� to the community under international human rights standards.
鈥淥ur investigations have made it clear that Facebook鈥檚 dangerous algorithms, which are hard-wired to drive 鈥榚ngagement鈥� and corporate profits at all costs, actively fanned the flames of hate and contributed to mass violence, as well as the forced displacement of over half the Rohingya population of Myanmar into neighboring Bangladesh,鈥� de Brun said.
In 2022, Amnesty International published a report stating that Meta was involved in the 2017 Myanmar military-led atrocities against the Rohingya
The report also claimed that Facebook was aware of the potential harm arising from its algorithms.
Since August 2017, Myanmar security forces have carried out a brutal campaign aimed at ethnically purging Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.
The campaign led to unlawful killings, acts of sexual violence against women and girls, and the torture of men and boys.
Destruction of hundreds of Rohingya villages led to the displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya, with most forced to seek refugee in Bangladesh.