Facebook Intensify Efforts To Combat Use Of Hate Speech

Madzingira said that in its effort to fight the use of hate speech on the platform, Facebook had over 15 thousand experts who review content in more than 50 languages on a daily basis. 

Facebook says it has intensified efforts to combat the use of hate speech on its platform.

Ms Fadzai Madzingira, Content Policy Associate Manager, Facebook sub-Sahara Africa, made this known at a Facebook Content Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya.

She said that hate speech created an environment of intimidation, exclusion and in some cases may promote real-world violence, hence it would not be allowed on the platform.

“We define hate speech as a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sex and serious disability among others.

“Talking on attacks we define it as violent or dehumanizing speech, statement of inferiority and calls for exclusion or segregation, “Madzingira said.

She said that attacks were separated into three tiers, noting that the first tier consisted of content targeted at dehumanizing a person or a group of people on the basis of their immigration status.

According to Madzingira, the second tier was targeted on a person or group of people based on their physical deficiencies, intellectual capacity and mental health among others.

“The third tier focuses on calls for segregation, explicit exclusion of the right of a person or group of people to participate in politics, economic entitlement and opportunity to gain access to spaces and social services,” she said.