They reveal that five months before the attack on the Capitol, Facebook was aware of the threat from violent groups

Facebook researchers had warned that the platform’s security systems were not sufficient to address the problem of hate groups disseminating content and debates on the social network, for which they stressed the need to take action in this regard in a report presented in August, in the midst of the US election campaign and five months before the shocking attack on the Capitol on January 6 in Washington.

In the report, accessible through the Wall Street JournalData specialists told executives at Mark Zuckerberg’s company that “enthusiastic calls to violence” circulated daily in various private “groups.” Most of these forums are conservative in ideology, the document added, and it also warns that some are run by foreign users.

“Our current integrity systems do not address these issues,” the researchers emphasized, noting that of the 100 most active groups in the United States, 70% had content that was not recommended because it was related to hatred, misinformation, harassment and bullying . “We have to do something to prevent these conversations from happening and growing so quicklyThey claimed.

These groups used Facebook tools to expand their audience, while tolerating or even encouraging hateful messages.

For example, one of these forums was devoted to spreading the most inflammatory news of the day to “feed a despicable mob that immediately and repeatedly calls for violence,” exacerbating issues of political fanaticism. Another, called “Trump Train 2020, Red Wave,” had “potential Macedonian ties” and had more than 2 million members before its shutdown in September. In addition, a group of 58,000 members was led by users posing as Trump supporters but led by “economically motivated Albanians” who posted links to fake news portals.

While some had a range of millions of views, others had the secret configuration, so that no one outside of him could know that it existed or hear its contents.

But some reports had a very high level of violence. “I hope someone shoots her, but she lives and becomes paralyzedA user said about Democratic Congressman Ilhan Omar, repeatedly criticized by Trump. “Maybe a bullet would do him goodAdded another account. And one suggestion also pointed to an execution: “Return the public hangings”.

These comments were published in the group “Kayleigh McEnany Fan Club,” the former White House press secretary, although he is not directly associated with her. “They deliberately create this toxic atmosphere,” the researchers wrote on this forum, where false news and other death threats against Black Lives Matter activists. Facebook had flagged it 174 times for misinformation in three months, but it was still running.

Facebook has taken measures that many consider insufficient. In 2019, the “Groups” app was redesigned to give it a boost, supposedly to build “healthy” communities.

After the report the social network closed some of the most problematic groups and stopped displaying others in the recommendations tabs, but some restrictions were only temporary, without imposing the measures recommended by the analysts. Therefore, after the election won by Joe Biden, some groups resumed their activity with intensity, despite the climate of controversy maintained by the baseless claims of the president and his followers.

It was only after the shock of the Capitol siege in early January that Facebook again took action and removed other groups that violate the rules of conduct. The day before the attack, a journalist came out BuzzFeed, Ryan Mac, had denounced how potential protesters organized into private groups, and Facebook’s own algorithm suggested joining similar groups.

In recent days, Facebook has finalized the suspension of these recommendations following a letter from Democratic congressmen demanding the measure. In addition, he plans to limit the visibility of political content, and group administrators will have to control what content users share. Previously, according to internal research, many forum administrators taught members to post offensive material in a way that escaped automatic network filters.

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