Facebook improving its ability to detect, remove hate speech ahead of Myanmar election

Facebook Inc said that it is preparing for Myanmar’s 2020 election by improving its ability to remove hate speech and content that incites violence from its platform. The social media giant announced its course correction after it failed to prevent the misuse of its platforms to “foment division and incite offline violence” in the country.

During the crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, several reports claimed that Myanmar military personnel turned Facebook into a tool for ethnic cleansing. Nearly 7,40,000 Rohingya Muslims were forced to take refuge in several camps in Bangladesh after Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown on the minority group.

Myanmar’s Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) submitted a 461-page final report in January 2020, admitting war crimes, serious human rights violations, and violations of domestic law during the security operations between August 25 - September 5, 2017. However, the government-appointed panel failed to find any “genocidal intent” behind the displacement of Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine state.

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Misinformation policy

Facebook has now announced that it is working to reduce the spread of harmful misinformation and removal of inauthentic networks in Myanmar that seek to manipulate public opinion. One of the executives for Southeast Asia said that Facebook has expanded its misinformation policy in Myanmar to remove misinformation that could lead to voter suppression or damage the integrity of the electoral process. 

“For example, we would remove posts falsely claiming a candidate is a Bengali, not a Myanmar citizen, and thus ineligible,” wrote Rafael Frankel, Director of Public Policy Southeast Asia.

Facebook introduced its third-party fact-checking program in Myanmar in March as part of its ongoing integrity efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation. The social media firm said that it has identified and disrupted six networks engaging in Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior in Myanmar since 2018.

“Although we know that this work will continue beyond November, we acknowledge that Myanmar’s 2020 general election will be an important marker along the journey,” added Frankel.

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