I'd originally linked this essay in the post about the book on IBM's complicity in the Holocaust, because there are definitely parallels. Kissane's story about Facebook's role in the genocide of...
I'd originally linked this essay in the post about the book on IBM's complicity in the Holocaust, because there are definitely parallels.
Kissane's story about Facebook's role in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar deserves its own book, as well as broader dissemination and discussion about how social media companies should be regulated.
I'm going to content-warn on this one - it contains very graphic descriptions of violence, including against children, as well as racist epithets, examples of disinformation, and hideous corporate distortions of facts.
Part 2 and Part 3 are now published, with the final Part 4 pending.
tl;dr - It's a detailed account of the six year period from 2012 - 2018 where Facebook directly and knowingly contributed to the Rohingya genocide and expulsion from Myanmar. All the while making patently false claims it didn't know what was happening, couldn't have forseen the slaughter because there weren't Burmese translators, and didn't have the ability to moderate.
Myanmar's populace had been cut off from most Internet access by its military junta and there was little Burmese language material before Facebook. The platform took over the country like a virus to which no one was immune.
It's arguable that Facebook should have known about problems as soon as it opened channels in Myanmar in 2011, because open, unmistakable violent threats against Rohingya began immediately, including in English. But Facebook handed megaphones to the most murderous (in particular, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk who had been jailed by the prior governing junta in 2003 for calling for genocide of the Muslim Rohingya), and refused to take them away.
I don't know if the intentionality of Facebook's actions was the same as IBM's (in aiding the German Nazi regime to exterminate Jews) at the outset. However, there were any number of points at which they were made aware of the danger, including a Time Magazine cover story in 2013 about Wirathu's evil anti-Muslim pronouncements and rising death tolls. Nonetheless, Facebook continued supporting and profiting from this hateful messaging and organization of attacks through its platform.
Thanks! This is a stunning look at Meta's impact on - as well as the rise of - the war in Myanmar. Myanmar was next on my 'countries to visit' list just before tensions started rising and the...
Thanks! This is a stunning look at Meta's impact on - as well as the rise of - the war in Myanmar. Myanmar was next on my 'countries to visit' list just before tensions started rising and the kidnapping of Aung San Suu Kyi. I don't feel like it's safe to visit, let alone put tourist dollars that ultimately will end up in the hands of the Junta. It's too bad because I heard so many people praise Myanmar for being such a beautiful country and a must-visit destination. Now it seems like it will be far off before that's possible.
I'd originally linked this essay in the post about the book on IBM's complicity in the Holocaust, because there are definitely parallels.
Kissane's story about Facebook's role in the genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar deserves its own book, as well as broader dissemination and discussion about how social media companies should be regulated.
I'm going to content-warn on this one - it contains very graphic descriptions of violence, including against children, as well as racist epithets, examples of disinformation, and hideous corporate distortions of facts.
Part 2 and Part 3 are now published, with the final Part 4 pending.
tl;dr - It's a detailed account of the six year period from 2012 - 2018 where Facebook directly and knowingly contributed to the Rohingya genocide and expulsion from Myanmar. All the while making patently false claims it didn't know what was happening, couldn't have forseen the slaughter because there weren't Burmese translators, and didn't have the ability to moderate.
Myanmar's populace had been cut off from most Internet access by its military junta and there was little Burmese language material before Facebook. The platform took over the country like a virus to which no one was immune.
It's arguable that Facebook should have known about problems as soon as it opened channels in Myanmar in 2011, because open, unmistakable violent threats against Rohingya began immediately, including in English. But Facebook handed megaphones to the most murderous (in particular, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk who had been jailed by the prior governing junta in 2003 for calling for genocide of the Muslim Rohingya), and refused to take them away.
I don't know if the intentionality of Facebook's actions was the same as IBM's (in aiding the German Nazi regime to exterminate Jews) at the outset. However, there were any number of points at which they were made aware of the danger, including a Time Magazine cover story in 2013 about Wirathu's evil anti-Muslim pronouncements and rising death tolls. Nonetheless, Facebook continued supporting and profiting from this hateful messaging and organization of attacks through its platform.
Thanks! This is a stunning look at Meta's impact on - as well as the rise of - the war in Myanmar. Myanmar was next on my 'countries to visit' list just before tensions started rising and the kidnapping of Aung San Suu Kyi. I don't feel like it's safe to visit, let alone put tourist dollars that ultimately will end up in the hands of the Junta. It's too bad because I heard so many people praise Myanmar for being such a beautiful country and a must-visit destination. Now it seems like it will be far off before that's possible.