How Facebook kept secret list of terror organisations, hate groups and criminals
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Facebook has identified little known terror organisations on its platform from South Asia, Russia, Europe, Turkey, Pakistan, Middle East and North Africa.
According to a report, Facebook has a list of thousands of individuals and organisations which it categories as those belonging to terrorism, hate organisations, militarised social movements, non-state actors and militant groups.
The list is however not a new phenomenon, the social media giant reportedly started it back in 2012 when it was facing a backlash from the US government and the UN over online recruitment by terror organisations. The social media giant reportedly added best practises community standards in order to keep out hate and violence from its platform.
The report published by The Intercept shows how Facebook has identified little known terror organisations on its platform from South Asia, Russia, Europe, Turkey, Pakistan, Middle East and North Africa.
It records Al Qaeda's media wing, also the media wing of the Taliban. In fact, the media wings have been especially targeted covering the Islamic Revolutionary Cops Guard, the Islamic State, Al-Aqsa media of Jammu and Kashmir belonging to the Lahkar-e-Taiba(LeT) and others.
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A group named Haji Basir and Zarjmil Company Hawala reportedly belonging to Pakistan has also been named in the list, including a little known organisation called Haji Khairullah Haji Sattar Money Exchange belonging to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The list also has a category for criminal organisations on Facebook stretching from Brazil, US, Europe, Columbia and Mexico.
The hate groups are identified under music bands in US, Germany, Sweden and several other nations. The militarised social movement under the description "armed militia group" identifies groups that spew venom on social media.
There is also a category for non-state actors from the Middle East, Africa and North America including a list of individuals under the hate category which includes the Proud Boys.
The list also targets individuals reportedly associated with Al Qaeda's central command, Hamas, Taliban, Haqqani Network, LeT, JeM, Al Shabaab and others.
(With inputs from Agencies)