Facebook Criticism Continues As Irish Lawmakers Declare “The Time For Self-Regulation By Social Media Platforms Is Over” 

Sunday, August 12 marks the scheduled return of Unite The Right 2, a sequel to last year’s rally, where a vehicle attack carried out by a white supremacist killed one woman and injured at least 30 others.  Previously, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) criticized Facebook for allowing hate groups to utilize the platform to organize the rally despite the company’s previous promises to do more.  And now, in a recently released intelligence note by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (NJOHSP), the agency echoed that sentiment stating, “White supremacist extremists continue to leverage social media to communicate, organize, and spread propaganda, despite the efforts of mainstream social media companies to remove extremist content from their online platforms.”

In another instance of online extremism, 27-year-old Everitt Aaron Jameson was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Monday for his plans to attack Pier 39 in San Francisco.  During their investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials identified posts from Jameson that “liked” or “loved” content related to terror attacks and ISIS.  These types of failures by Facebook to moderate hate speech, extremist content and even child exploitation on their platform caused Irish lawmakers last week to openly question the company’s commitment to effectively governing themselves stating, “It is the view of the committee that the time for self-regulation by social media platforms is over.” 

ISIS materials on Facebook identified by CEP regularly depict brutal and graphic acts of violence.  One video, up on the platform for three years, is titled “They Are The Enemy Beware 3” and concludes with the execution of five accused spies by hand guns.  Another full-length, 36-minute-long video shows combat between ISIS fighters and Kurdish forces, and includes footage of several vehicle borne suicide bombings and the dragging of the corpse of a Kurdish soldier.  And a one-minute and twenty-five second clip features Iraqi security forces being shot by ISIS snipers taken from the ISIS video “Picking Heads” originally released on March 29, 2017.

To read more about this issue and see the aforementioned examples, as well as other examples of extremist content, please see the background below.

EXTREMIST FACEBOOK CONTENT

1. ISIS Video That Shows Vehicle Borne Suicide Bombings On Facebook
   • Located on Facebook: August 8, 2018
   • Time on Facebook: Three days
   • Views: 67 views, 23 likes/reacts and three shares
   • URL: Link
   • Description: The full-length ISIS video “Purification of the Souls,” originally released on June 19, 2017.  The video shows combat between ISIS fighters and Kurdish forces, and includes footage of several vehicle borne suicide bombings and shows the dragging of the corpse of a Kurdish soldier.

2. ISIS Call To Violence

• Located on Facebook: August 8, 2018
• Time on Facebook: One week
• Views: 206, 14 likes/reacts and 27 shares
• URL: Link
• Description: A clip calling for violence from the video “And Allah And His Apostle Told Us What Was True” originally released on April 21, 2017.  In the clip, a man calls for violence against the unbelievers fighting ISIS.

3. Execution Video On Facebook For Three Years With Over 1,600 Views

• Located on Facebook: August 8, 2018
• Time on Facebook: Approximately three years
• Views: 1,600, 24 likes/reacts and two shares
• URL: Link
• Description: An execution video titled “They Are The Enemy Beware 3” originally released on January 3, 2016 from ISIS’s self-proclaimed province in Raqqah, Syria.  The video is directed to former Prime Minister David Cameron by an English-speaking executioner who proclaims that one day ISIS will invade the UK.  The video concludes with the execution of five accused spies by handguns.

4. ISIS Sniper Clip From Official Video

• Located on Facebook: August 8, 2018
• Time on Facebook: 11 hours
• Views: 584, 91 likes/reacts and 43 shares
• URL: Link
• Description: A one minute and twenty-five second clip of Iraqi security forces being shot by ISIS snipers taken from the ISIS video “Picking Heads” originally released on March 29, 2017.

BACKGROUND

Unite The Right 2 Will Take Place In Washington, D.C. On August 12 And Organizers Have Used Facebook To Coordinate With Each Other. “At last year’s Unite the Right rally, hundreds of members of the alt-right and white supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, purportedly to defend a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, as it faced removal approved by the City Council … The next day, the event attracted a counterprotest, during which a self-avowed Nazi sympathizer drove a car into a crowd, killing a young woman … And on August 12, they’re doing it again – this time, outside the White House … But coordinating this event has seemingly been chaotic at best, as revealed by recent internal Facebook chats from Unite the Right planners (obtained from an anonymous source by the media collective Unicorn Riot, a left-leaning investigative journalism nonprofit).” (Jane Coaston, “One Year After Charlottesville, The Alt-Right Is Gathering Again – In Washington,” Vox, 8/6/18)

The New Jersey Office Of Homeland Security And Preparedness: “White Supremacist Extremists Continue To Leverage Social Media To Communicate, Organize, And Spread Propaganda, Despite The Efforts Of Mainstream Social Media Companies To Remove Extremist Content From Their Online Platforms.” (“White Supremacists Continue To Leverage Social Media,” NJOHSP, 8/6/18)

Everitt Aaron Jameson Was Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Plotting A Terrorist Attack In San Francisco And FBI Officials Found He Had “Liked” Content About “Terror Attacks And ISIS On Facebook.” “A former US Marine accused of plotting a Christmas holiday terror attack on a popular San Francisco tourist destination last year was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.  7-year-old Everitt Aaron Jameson pleaded guilty in June after being arrested for attempting to provide material support to ISIS.  The FBI had started watching Jameson in September after finding that he ‘liked’ or ‘loved’ posts about terror attacks and ISIS on Facebook, according to the plea agreement.  Undercover FBI agents later posed as ISIS supporters and contacted Jameson.  He met with one on December 16, and said he was well versed in the ‘Anarchist Cookbook,’ a book that includes instructions for making explosives.  He also said that ‘we need something along the lines of New York or San Bernardino,’ making reference to prior terrorist attacks.” (Laura Jarrett, “Ex-Marine Behind Thwarted Attack At San Francisco’s Pier 39 Sentenced To 15 Years,” CNN, 8/6/18)

Irish Lawmakers In Response To Facebook’s Efforts To Moderate Content Online: “It Is The View Of The Committee That The Time For Self-Regulation By Social Media Platforms Is Over.” “Yesterday (1 August) the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and the Environment questioned Facebook executives about how the company is responding to a recent Channel 4 documentary, which highlighted major errors in its content moderation implementation … Following the meeting, committee chair Hildegarde Naughton, TD, said: ‘As Facebook’s European headquarters is based in Ireland, we must lead the way.  The press are regulated.  Television and radio is regulated.  It is the view of the committee that the time for self-regulation by social media platforms is over.  ‘We are not planning to turn back the clock or ban social media.  What we are proposing is to regulate to ensure that such platforms are safe places for its users.’” (Ellen Tannam, “Facebook Apologises For Content Moderation Issues At Dublin Base,” Silicon Republic, 8/3/18)