Facebook to Start Taking Down Posts That Could Lead to Violence

Facebook will start removing misinformation that could spark violence, a response to mounting criticism that the flow of rumors on its platform has led to physical harm to people in countries around the world. Facebook will rely on local organizations of its choosing to decide whether specific posts contain false information and could lead to physical violence, company officials said. If both hold true, the posts will be taken down. A Facebook spokeswoman said the company will implement the new policy first in Sri Lanka and later in Myanmar, two countries where some people and groups have used Facebook to spread rumors that ultimately lead to physical violence. The attacks in those countries have garnered significant media attention.

The new policy raises questions that company officials said are too early to answer, including who its partners will be and what the criteria will be to become one. A Facebook spokeswoman said she couldn’t provide a list of organizations Facebook plans to team up with or countries where they could deploy this new policy.