Posted on May 1, 2018

Facebook Testing Out a “Hate Speech” Button, Inadvertently Launches It Live

CBS News, May 1, 2018

Facebook accidentally set a “hate speech” button live on its platform for a short period of time, a company spokesperson confirmed in a statement Tuesday. The button asked users: “Does this contain hate speech?”

The spokesperson said the company was conducting an “internal test” in an attempt to understand “different types of speech, including speech we thought would not be hate.” They said a bug caused the button to launch publicly but it has since been disabled.

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Facebook has recently come under fire for what critics say are a lack of action when it comes to curbing hate speech in developing countries. A recent report from The New York Times says violence in Sri Lanka has hit the nation particularly hard because Facebook rumors often lead to violent outcomes. The Times spoke with advocacy groups who flag alarming content to Facebook, but they say not much is being done.

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