A lawsuit accusing Meta Platforms of enabling violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia to flourish on Facebook, inflaming the country’s bloody civil war, has been filed. It alleges Facebook’s recommendations systems amplified violent posts in Ethiopia, including several that preceded the murder of the father of one of the researchers. Among the plaintiffs is Abrham Meareg, who said his father, Tigrayan academic Meareg Amare Abrha, was killed after Facebook posts referring to him using ethnic slurs were published in October 2021. “If Facebook had just stopped the spread of hate and moderated posts properly, my father would still be alive,” said Meareg. Meta spokesperson Erin McPike said that hate speech and incitement to violence were against the rules of Facebook and Instagram.

Source: Ethiopian News December 14, 2022 10:28 UTC