Facebook dithered in curbing divisive user content in India

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — Leaked documents obtained by The Associated Press show that Facebook in India dithered in curbing hate speech and anti-Muslim content on its platform and lacked enough local language moderators to prevent misinformation from appearing. That publication of false news at times led to real-world violence. The files show these problems have been plaguing the company for years, particularly in cases where members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party created multiple Facebook accounts to amplify anti-Muslim content. They highlight Facebook’s constant struggles in quashing abusive content on its platforms in the world’s biggest democracy and the company’s largest growth market. Communal and religious tensions in India have a history of boiling over on social media and stoking violence.