Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 13-03-2018

UN Human Rights experts investigating a possible genocide in Myanmar say social media site Facebook played a role in spreading hate speech in the country.

According to Reuters, Marzuki Darusman chairman of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar says social media has played a “determining role” in the crisis, in which hundreds of thousands Rohingya Muslims have fled the country.

More than 650,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since rebel attacks sparked a military backlash last August. Many refugees have described executions and rapes by Myanmar security forces.

Darusman says social media has significantly inflamed the volatility of attacks in Myanmar.

“It has … substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict, if you will, within the public. Hate speech is certainly of course a part of that. As far as the Myanmar situation is concerned, social media is Facebook, and Facebook is social media.”

Facebook has admitted the difficulty it faces in tackling hate speech. The world’s most popular social network said last year it removes about 66,000 posts a week — around 288,000 monthly — on what it considers hateful rhetoric.

Twitter: @FaizelPatel143