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VP of Integrity at FB says fake like are not a harmful global threat. Hi @guyro let me tell you about the context in Honduras. So first of all the brother of President Hernandez and former Honduran congressman is currently in US jail: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-honduran-congressman-tony-hern-ndez-convicted-manhattan-federal-court-conspiring https://twitter.com/guyro/status/1305613201803943936
So hypothetical question for @guyro: if the money being used to buy fake likes is coming from sources connected to drug traffickers or cartels, what responsibility does Facebook have in this situation if you don't consider fake likes a harmful threat? https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/tony-hernandez-sinaloa-cartel-honduras/
I've studied fake engagement on Honduran Twitter and now we know the same is happening on FB. @pflama and I analyzed fake engagement that was boosting the Honduran president during an extremely violent post-electoral period towards the end of 2019.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-1165-9_50
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-1165-9_50
The Honduran military was using live ammunition against citizens who were protesting a very blatant fraudulent election. State terrorism was happening on the ground https://twitter.com/3r1nG/status/981234448627912704 meanwhile activity emanating from Honduran government social media was glowingly positive.
"Implications for freedom of expression and control of dissenting voices in Honduras should be cause for concern. Our findings underscore the need for
tighter controls of social media abuse by regimes that seek to quell their opposition through a fake positive
atmosphere online."
tighter controls of social media abuse by regimes that seek to quell their opposition through a fake positive
atmosphere online."
We're not just talking about creating a positive social media fog while a repressive regime connected to major drug trafficking networks murders its citizens. Because they're not just buying fake likes. Those same fake accounts are also used to target vulnerable activists online.
Vulnerable activists who sometimes get murdered IRL after receiving threats from the same fake accounts. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-berta-c%C3%A1ceres
What responsibility do social media companies have in enabling this? It's not just "fake likes" and to Honduran citizens it is absolutely a threat.
What responsibility do social media companies have in enabling this? It's not just "fake likes" and to Honduran citizens it is absolutely a threat.
It is never *just fake likes* https://theintercept.com/2019/12/21/berta-caceres-murder-plot-honduras/
And it's not just Berta. Although she's the most famous, so many others whose names are not well-known have been killed. https://twitter.com/3r1nG/status/773565729547378688
When indigenous activists are bombarded with targeted abuse from fake accounts, they are literally fighting against ghosts online.
When indigenous activists are bombarded with targeted abuse from fake accounts, they are literally fighting against ghosts online.
