After a series of controversies regarding hate speech and delivering misinformation, Facebook has announced that the social media giant will&nbsp;flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from the President Donald Trump.

Until Friday, all Facebook posts of Trump remained untouched. However, the same posts, with the exact same wordings, were labelled with a warning on twitter.

This had brought a lot of criticism towards Facebook, whether it was from the outside world or the Facebook employees.

After a three-week long review, Facebook has now decided to flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians.

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An update from our company town hall.
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"The policies we're implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how they're showing up across our community," Mark Zuckerberg,&nbsp;wrote on his Facebook page announcing the changes.

He also announced that the social network is taking additional steps to counter election-related misinformation.

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Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections. That work is ongoing, but today I...
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Facebook will also be banning any future posts that spread any false information about election process or the local polling conditions. He aims to complete the process of removing all such posts within 72 hours.

The company also aims to identify and remove all hate posts against minority communities and/or individuals, even before people report such posts.

Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Civic Media, said the changes are a "reminder of how powerful Facebook may be in terms of spreading disinformation during the upcoming election".

"If every post that mentions voting links, people will start ignoring those links. If they're targeted to posts that say things like 'Police will be checking warrants and unpaid traffic tickets at polls' - a classic voter suppression disinfo tactic - and clearly mark posts as disinfo, they might be useful," he said.

However, Zuckerberg has also made it clear that Facebook "has a history of trying hard not to alienate right-leaning users, and given how tightly President Trump has aligned himself with voter-suppressing misinfo, it seems likely that Facebook will err on the side of non-intrusive and ignorable labels, which would minimize impact of the campaign."

This announcement has come after several companies, such as Unilever, Ben &amp; Jerry's and Coca-Cola,&nbsp;decided to&nbsp;&nbsp;boycott Facebook ads through the end of the year due to the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform.

(With inputs from Reuters)

After a series of controversies regarding hate speech and delivering misinformation, Facebook has announced that the social media giant will flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from the President Donald Trump.

After a series of controversies regarding hate speech and delivering misinformation, Facebook has announced that the social media giant will flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from the President Donald Trump. Until Friday, all Facebook posts of Trump remained untouched. However, the same posts, with the exact same wordings, were labelled with a warning on twitter. This had brought a lot of criticism towards Facebook, whether it was from the outside world or the Facebook employees. After a three-week long review, Facebook has now decided to flag all "newsworthy" posts from politicians. An update from our company town hall. Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, June 26, 2020 × "The policies we're implementing today are designed to address the reality of the challenges our country is facing and how they're showing up across our community," Mark Zuckerberg, wrote on his Facebook page announcing the changes. He also announced that the social network is taking additional steps to counter election-related misinformation. Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections. That work is ongoing, but today I... Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Friday, June 26, 2020 × Facebook will also be banning any future posts that spread any false information about election process or the local polling conditions. He aims to complete the process of removing all such posts within 72 hours. The company also aims to identify and remove all hate posts against minority communities and/or individuals, even before people report such posts. Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Civic Media, said the changes are a "reminder of how powerful Facebook may be in terms of spreading disinformation during the upcoming election". "If every post that mentions voting links, people will start ignoring those links. If they're targeted to posts that say things like 'Police will be checking warrants and unpaid traffic tickets at polls' - a classic voter suppression disinfo tactic - and clearly mark posts as disinfo, they might be useful," he said. However, Zuckerberg has also made it clear that Facebook "has a history of trying hard not to alienate right-leaning users, and given how tightly President Trump has aligned himself with voter-suppressing misinfo, it seems likely that Facebook will err on the side of non-intrusive and ignorable labels, which would minimize impact of the campaign." This announcement has come after several companies, such as Unilever, Ben & Jerry's and Coca-Cola, decided to boycott Facebook ads through the end of the year due to the amount of hate speech and divisive rhetoric on its platform. (With inputs from Reuters)

Facebook to flag all 'newsworthy' posts from politicians that break rules

Academics and activists accused Facebook Friday of censoring posts about India&#39;s northern state of Kashmir as a curfew in the region extended into its 14th day following unrest that has left 48 protesters dead. 
 
Facebook users posting on the violence in Kashmir in Britain, the US, India and Pakistan told AFP their posts had been removed or their profiles permanently deleted by the Silicon Valley giant citing &quot;violation of community standards&quot;. 
 
Wide-scale protests against Indian rule have flared across the Muslim-majority territory since the killing on July 8 of popular rebel leader Burhan Wani in a firefight with government forces. 
 
Professor Huma Dar, a Kashmiri-origin academic at the University of California Berkeley, said her profile was permanently disabled after she posted photos of Wani and a video of his funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners. 
 
&quot;We will not reactivate it for any reason,&quot; Dar said Facebook informed her. 
 
Professor Dibyesh Anand of London&#39;s Westminster University said his posts about the actions of Indian security forces, which have drawn criticism for their heavy-handed tactics, were removed twice. 
 
&quot;They (Facebook) apologised. But they blocked a second time within a day, again for 24 hours for a mild post,&quot; Anand told AFP from London. 
 
&quot;When a conspicuous number of posts relating to state violence in Kashmir gets removed by Facebook and profiles of academics and writers blocked, it is clear that there is censorship,&quot; Anand said. 
 
More than 3,000 people, hundreds of them police officers, have been injured in the clashes, overwhelming hospitals in the region&#39;s main city of Srinagar. 
 
Indian authorities have imposed a curfew, suspended mobile networks and internet in large parts of the territory and seized newspapers in a bid to quell protests. 
 
US-based social activist Mary Scully said her posts were also removed on more than one occasion, citing community standards. 
She and Anand along with others have started a petition urging Facebook to investigate. 
 
&quot;None of the posts removed have violated Facebook&#39;s community standards of hate speech or incitement to violence but have only portrayed the violence being perpetrated against the Kashmiri people,&quot; the petition states. 
 
Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 
 
According to Facebook data, India ranks second only to the US for the number of requests for user data and content restriction made every year to the company. 
 
Residents of Kashmir have regularly complained of Facebook removing their posts since 2010 when large protests roiled the territory. 
&quot;My account was permanently disabled when I posted a video of Indian paramilitaries ransacking a hospital,&quot; said Kashmir valley resident Rayees Rasool. 
 
Burhan Wani was the leader of banned rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, one of several fighting some 500,000 Indian troops deployed in the region since 1989, demanding independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan. 
 
(AFP) 
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Residents of Kashmir have regularly complained of Facebook removing their posts since 2010 when large protests roiled the territory

Academics and activists accused Facebook Friday of censoring posts about India's northern state of Kashmir as a curfew in the region extended into its 14th day following unrest that has left 48 protesters dead. Facebook users posting on the violence in Kashmir in Britain, the US, India and Pakistan told AFP their posts had been removed or their profiles permanently deleted by the Silicon Valley giant citing "violation of community standards". Wide-scale protests against Indian rule have flared across the Muslim-majority territory since the killing on July 8 of popular rebel leader Burhan Wani in a firefight with government forces. Professor Huma Dar, a Kashmiri-origin academic at the University of California Berkeley, said her profile was permanently disabled after she posted photos of Wani and a video of his funeral attended by tens of thousands of mourners. "We will not reactivate it for any reason," Dar said Facebook informed her. Professor Dibyesh Anand of London's Westminster University said his posts about the actions of Indian security forces, which have drawn criticism for their heavy-handed tactics, were removed twice. "They (Facebook) apologised. But they blocked a second time within a day, again for 24 hours for a mild post," Anand told AFP from London. "When a conspicuous number of posts relating to state violence in Kashmir gets removed by Facebook and profiles of academics and writers blocked, it is clear that there is censorship," Anand said. More than 3,000 people, hundreds of them police officers, have been injured in the clashes, overwhelming hospitals in the region's main city of Srinagar. Indian authorities have imposed a curfew, suspended mobile networks and internet in large parts of the territory and seized newspapers in a bid to quell protests. US-based social activist Mary Scully said her posts were also removed on more than one occasion, citing community standards. She and Anand along with others have started a petition urging Facebook to investigate. "None of the posts removed have violated Facebook's community standards of hate speech or incitement to violence but have only portrayed the violence being perpetrated against the Kashmiri people," the petition states. Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to Facebook data, India ranks second only to the US for the number of requests for user data and content restriction made every year to the company. Residents of Kashmir have regularly complained of Facebook removing their posts since 2010 when large protests roiled the territory. "My account was permanently disabled when I posted a video of Indian paramilitaries ransacking a hospital," said Kashmir valley resident Rayees Rasool. Burhan Wani was the leader of banned rebel group Hizbul Mujahideen, one of several fighting some 500,000 Indian troops deployed in the region since 1989, demanding independence or a merger of the territory with Pakistan. (AFP)

Facebook criticised for censoring Kashmir-related posts

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Facebook to flag all 'newsworthy' posts from politicians that break rules

Facebook criticised for censoring Kashmir-related posts