Extremist Content Remains On The Popular Meta-Owned Platform





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Extremist Content Online: Facebook Edition

Extremist Content Remains On The Popular Meta-Owned Platform



(New York, N.Y.) — Today, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is launching the
first of a new series,Extremist Content Online: Facebook Edition, that will
track extremists’ misuse of Meta-owned Facebook to spread propaganda, recruit
followers, and incite violence. The content found by CEP researchers on
Facebook are clear violations of the platform’s terms of service, yet extremist
and terrorist content often fails to be removed.



“Four years ago, Mark Zuckerberg famously claimed that a mythical 99 percent
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of terrorist and extremist content is removed from Facebook,” stated CEP
Executive Director David Ibsen. “Zuckerberg’s claim was based on overly
optimistic assumptions that were impossible to independently verify.
Predictably, the core problems still exist, and CEP continues to easily locate
extremist and terrorist material on Facebook.



“Empty platitudes and PR-driven initiatives are not acceptable responses to
pro-ISIS accounts disseminatingpropaganda
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, links to videos of terror attacks such as the recentBuffalo mass shooting
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, antisemitic andneo-Nazi accounts
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, as well as pagesrun
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by individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.



“Additionally, Facebook’s own Oversight Board recently criticized the company
for its lack of transparency in relation to its content moderation policies.In
response
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, CEP stated that if Facebook was truly concerned about improving online
safety, Meta and Facebook should provide the Oversight with access to any and
all information related to its inquiry; bring on external experts with core
computer science skills, such as U.C. Berkeley professor and CEP Senior Advisor
Dr. Hany Farid <[link removed]>, onto the
Oversight Board; and integrate Oversight Board members onto its corporate
board. CEP remains committed to holding Facebook accountable and to drawing
attention to the areas where the platform is misguided.”



ISIS Content Located on Facebook



During the week of July 10 to July 15, CEP researchers found 10 accounts on
Facebook that posted a variety of ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda. Content
included a full-length official ISIS video uploaded on June 23, the same day it
was released, videos containing Amaq news statements, links to ISIS content on
other websites, ISIS audio clips, pro-ISIS propaganda photos, and unofficial
pro-ISIS videos using footage taken from official propaganda.



One account, with over 1,200 friends, used a photo of the November 2, 2020,
Vienna attacker,Kujtim Fejzulai
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photo. Another account with over 850 followers, posted several pieces of
pro-ISIS content, including a photo on April 30, originally released in 2015,
that showed ISIS fighters executing an alleged gay man in Kirkuk, Iraq, as well
as multiple other propaganda photos. Numerous pieces of propaganda located by
CEP had over 100 likes and other interactions.



ISIS propaganda video on Facebook, July 14, 2022.



ISIS Propaganda Video Released On Facebook



On June 27, ISIS released a propaganda video via their self-proclaimed Iraq
province titled “From the Land of Iraq to the Lions of Africa.” The video is
the second in a series. Theprevious
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video was released on June 23 via ISIS’s Syria province. Footage shows a group
of three ISIS fighters and an additional individual ISIS member congratulating
the successes of the group’s affiliates in African provinces and urging
immigration to ISIS-held territory in Africa.



The video was released on Telegram, Hoop, and a pro-ISIS website. CEP also
located the video on the Internet Archive, Facebook, and Odysee.



ISIS propaganda video “From the Land of Iraq to the Lions of Africa” on
Facebook, two days after CEP reported the video for violating the website’s
policies. The video had 865 views on June 30. The video was modified, included
having the introduction removed, a logo placed on the bottom right, and color
modified, to evade being removed by Facebook.



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