For years, Facebook has faced allegations that it has failed to prevent the spread of harmful content in Ethiopia, a country wracked by ethnic violence in a divisive civil war. Now, Facebook’s parent company Meta has been hit with a lawsuit, alleging that the platform’s amplification of—and failure to remove—hateful posts contributed to the deaths of ethnic minorities in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has long been a key example cited by critics of Facebook’s role in ethnic violence internationally, along with Myanmar, where Facebook has admitted it did not do enough to prevent what some observers have labeled a genocide. But the new lawsuit is the first to directly present allegations of Facebook posts leading to deaths there. The lawsuit demands Meta impose measures to further reduce the spread of hatred and incitement to violence in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News December 15, 2022 11:35 UTC