Facebook is no stranger to controversy, but the social media platform has been gradually getting worse over the years. The latest controversy that the social media company happens to be embroiled in has to do with a Facebook group populated by Hindu extremists in India who were found to be buying and selling guns through their page.
The organization behind this Facebook group has a history of violent extremism in India, and the sale of firearms and ammunition should’ve been a serious red flag. In spite of the fact that this is the case, Meta not only failed to act when it received reports about the group, it rejected the complaints outright and said that the posts did not violate their community policies.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Facebook eventually ended up removing the posts after receiving an inquiry from the Wall Street Journal. They did not comment on the fact that they had initially refused to remove the posts, which makes this seem more like damage control rather than a true adherence to their community guidelines.
Facebook has often been lax in its policies when it comes to India, since the nation represents its single biggest market in the entire world with all things having been considered and taken into account. Conservative religious organizations in India as well as Hindu extremist and terrorist groups have begun to run amok on the platform, and this controversy is just the latest example of how badly Facebook is failing at regulating its platform in that particular region.
The people who were trying to sell these firearms claimed that they could conduct the transactions over WhatsApp, which is yet another Meta owned platform that has become embroiled in all of these goings on. Facebook must take swifter action, otherwise the violence that is occurring in India against religious minorities will only continue to get worse. The Indian government has already made overtures to take control of the internet, and if companies like Facebook comply things might spiral out of control.
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The organization behind this Facebook group has a history of violent extremism in India, and the sale of firearms and ammunition should’ve been a serious red flag. In spite of the fact that this is the case, Meta not only failed to act when it received reports about the group, it rejected the complaints outright and said that the posts did not violate their community policies.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Facebook eventually ended up removing the posts after receiving an inquiry from the Wall Street Journal. They did not comment on the fact that they had initially refused to remove the posts, which makes this seem more like damage control rather than a true adherence to their community guidelines.
Facebook has often been lax in its policies when it comes to India, since the nation represents its single biggest market in the entire world with all things having been considered and taken into account. Conservative religious organizations in India as well as Hindu extremist and terrorist groups have begun to run amok on the platform, and this controversy is just the latest example of how badly Facebook is failing at regulating its platform in that particular region.
The people who were trying to sell these firearms claimed that they could conduct the transactions over WhatsApp, which is yet another Meta owned platform that has become embroiled in all of these goings on. Facebook must take swifter action, otherwise the violence that is occurring in India against religious minorities will only continue to get worse. The Indian government has already made overtures to take control of the internet, and if companies like Facebook comply things might spiral out of control.
Read next: Facebook Launches More Tools For Comment Moderation So Creators Can Better Manage Conversations
