Facebook’s Continues Pattern Of Inconsistent Policy Enforcement





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Extremist Content Online: Facebook Edition

Facebook’s Continues Pattern Of Inconsistent Policy Enforcement



(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the
methods used by extremists to exploit Meta-owned Facebook to spread propaganda,
recruit followers, and incite violence in order to hold the popular social
media platform accountable for its failure to prevent the dissemination of
extremist and terrorist content.



Within the last week, among a sample of 10 Facebook accounts, CEP identified a
wide variety of content in direct violation of the site’s policy regarding
extremist content. Like weeks past, this included pages from ISIS magazines and
publications, other photographic propaganda, and segmented as well as
full-length ISIS propaganda videos.



The extremist and terrorist content found by CEP researchers on Facebook are
clear violations of the platform’s terms of service, yet it often fails to be
removed. CEP encourages Facebook to takeconcrete action
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regarding the misuse of its site, including by providing Meta’s Oversight
Board with access to any and all information related to its inquiry; bringing
on external experts with core computer science skills, such as U.C. Berkeley
professor and CEP Senior AdvisorDr. Hany Farid
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and integrating Oversight Board members onto its corporate board. Meta is
responsible for the extremist content on its platforms, and it must begin to
act as such.



Pro-ISIS Content Located on Facebook



In a sample of pro-ISIS content on Facebook located on September 7, CEP found
10 Facebook accounts that posted a variety of full ISIS propaganda videos,
segments taken from videos, Amaq footage, pages taken from ISIS’s Rumiyah
magazine and the weekly al-Naba news publication, and photo propaganda. Five of
the 10 accounts had between 1 and 1,860 friends or followers, with an average
of 728. Five accounts had an unlisted number of friends or followers.



CEP located two full-length ISIS videos. The first, “Makers of Epic Battles
6,” from ISIS’s self-proclaimed West Africa province, was originally released
on April 6, 2022, and uploaded to Facebook the same day. Approximately five
months later, the video had 649 views and was shared 94 times. Facebook removed
the video approximately five minutes after CEP reported it. The second video
from ISIS’s self-proclaimed India state, “Jihad of the Believers Continues #8,”
was released on March 25, 2022, and uploaded to Facebook on July 29. The video
had 92 views on September 7. CEP reported the video to Facebook on September 7,
but it was still online approximately 48 hours later.



The ISIS video “Jihad of the Believers Continues #8” on Facebook. Screenshot
taken on September 8.



One of the Facebook accounts uploaded a photo of a young child estimated to be
between the ages of four and eight, taken from a notorious ISIS video released
on January 8, 2017. The video shows the child committing an execution of a
civilian with a handgun. While the photo, uploaded to Facebook on April 1, did
not show explicit violence, the photo was taken from a particularly disturbing
ISIS execution video.



It is unclear why Facebook’s hashing system or artificial intelligence did not
detect the various ISIS videos or photos.



CEP reported all 10 accounts to Facebook on September 7. All were still online
48 hours later. The two videos were reported separately. One was removed within
48 hours.



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