Facebook Moderation Tools Fail to Remove Posts From Terrorist Groups in Kenya

pcmag.com:

Facebook News Feeds are largely customized based on users' social network and interests, but a new report(Opens in a new window) on terrorist activity in East Africa contends that country and language play a bigger role in what people see than expected.

The platform relies on moderation algorithms to cull hate speech and violence, but the systems struggle to detect them in non-English posts, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) says.

Two terrorist groups in Kenya—al-Shabaab and the Islamic State—exploit these content-moderation limitations to post recruitment propaganda and shocking videos, many of which are in Arabic, Somali, and Kiswahili.

“Language moderation gaps not only play into the hands of governments conducting human rights abuses or spreading hate speech, but are similarly resulting in brazenly open displays of support for terror groups,” the ISD report says.

With elections coming up in Kenya on Aug. 9, the study cites 30 public Facebook pages from militant groups that intentionally sow distrust in democracy and the government. The most active al-Shabaab and Islamic State profiles are calling for violence and discord ahead of the election, and ultimately establishing an East African caliphate.

The research also found that a video posted on the official al-Shabaab page featuring a Somali man being shot in the back of the head was freely shared by five different users. The video was marked with recognizable al-Shabaab branding, which any content-moderation system operating in that region should be obligated to recognize. Out of 445 users posting in Arabic, Kiswahili, and Somali, all were able to freely share a mix of unofficial, official, and custom content clearly supporting al-Shabaab and the Islamic