I gruppi Facebook di estrema destra "diffondono odio tra milioni di persona in Europa"
Sintesi personale
Una rete di account Facebook di estrema destra , che diffondono notizie false e incitamento all'odio a milioni di persone in tutta Europa, è stata scoperta dal gruppo Avaaz .
Facebook, che sta lottando per ripulire la piattaforma e salvare la sua reputazione , ha già bloccato account con circa 6 milioni di follower prima del voto europeo .Sta ancora indagando su centinaia di altri account con altri 26 milioni di follower.
In totale il gruppo ha segnalato più di 500 gruppi sospetti e pagine Facebook operanti in Francia, Germania, Italia, Regno Unito, Polonia e Spagna. La maggior parte sta diffondendo notizie false o usando pagine e profili falsi per aumentare artificialmente la diffusione del contenuto , in violazione delle regole di Facebook. Le pagine bloccate da Facebook fino a quel momento erano state viste mezzo miliardo di volte, secondo Avaaz.
"Le pagine [scoperte da Avaaz] hanno alti livelli di interazione. Non importa quanti follower hai se non ci sono interazioni ", ha detto Christoph Schott, direttore della campagna "Hanno oltre 500 milioni di visualizzazioni solo sulle pagine smantellate, questo è più del numero di elettori nell'UE".
Tuttavia, mentre alcune pagine sono state bloccate , inclusa una grande rete in Spagna, scoperta da Avaaz, molti sono ancora presenti.
L'attività spaziava dalla diffusione di contenuti di supremazia bianca, a messaggi in Germania a sostegno della negazione dell'Olocausto e a false pagine per promuovere il partito di Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) .
In Italia, le tattiche includevano la creazione di pagine di interesse generale per la bellezza, il calcio, la salute o altri interessi, poi dopo l'adesione dei fans , si trasformavano in strumenti politici.
I ricercatori hanno monitorato come una pagina, apparentemente istituita per un'associazione di allevatori agricoli, si sia lentamente trasformata in una pagina che sostiene la Lega , condividendo un video che mostrava migranti che distruggevano una macchina della polizia. In realtà riportava una scena di un film.
Le pagine non erano solo mirate alle prossime elezioni, ha detto Schott, ma miravano a cambiare la politica creando l' impressione di una base di sostenitori per il loro contenuto.
"Riteniamo che [queste reti] abbiano un impatto significativo, conducono campagne di disinformazione che si protraggono per anni, ad esempio, rendendo più rilevante una questione specifica".
L'indagine è stata condotta da investigatori indipendenti e giornalisti assunti da Avaaz dopo una campagna di finanziamento online. Più di 47.000 persone hanno donato piccole somme, rendendo il progetto economicamente indipendente.
Facebook ha seguito le indagini, ma in nessun momento il team di Avaaz ha collaborato con la società di social media. Ha consegnato le sue scoperte a Facebook perchè verificasse e prendesse provvedimenti, e le indagini sono ancora in corso.
"Pensiamo che Facebook abbia fatto un buon lavoro finora, ma avrebbe potuto fare un lavoro migliore per rilevare queste pagine", ha detto Schott. " Siamo circa 30 persone, loro hanno oltre 30.000 persone nel loro team di sicurezza e protezione ".
A
web of far-right Facebook accounts spreading fake news and hate
speech to millions of people across Europe has been uncovered by the
campaign group Avaaz.
Facebook,
which is struggling to clean
up the platform and salvage its reputation,
has already taken down accounts with about 6 million followers before
voting in the European
elections begins
on Thursday.
It was still investigating hundreds of other accounts with an
additional 26 million followers, Avaaz said.
In
total, the group reported more than 500 suspect groups
and Facebookpages
operating across France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland and Spain.
Most were either spreading fake news or using false pages and
profiles to artificially boost the content of parties or sites they
supported, in violation of Facebook’s rules.
The networks were far more popular than the official pages of
far-right and anti-EU populist groups in those countries. The pages
taken down by Facebook so far had been viewed half a billion times,
Avaaz estimated.
Europe’s far-right leaders unite with a vow to ‘change history’
Read
more
“The
pages [uncovered by Avaaz] have high levels of interactions. It
doesn’t matter how many followers you have if there are no
interactions,” said Christoph Schott, the groups’s campaign
director. “They have over 500 million views just on the pages taken
down, that’s more than the number of voters in the EU.”
However,
while some had been taken down, including a large
network in Spain also
uncovered by Avaaz, many had not.
Activity
ranged from French accounts sharing white supremacist content, to
posts in Germany supporting Holocaust denial, and false pages
promoting the Alternative
für Deutschland party (AfD) party.
In Italy, tactics included setting up general interest pages for
beauty, football, health or other interests, then after followers
signed up, transforming them into political tools.
The researchers traced how a page, ostensibly set up for an
association of agricultural breeders, slowly morphed into one
supporting the far-right League, sharing a video that purported to
show migrants smashing up a police car. It is actually a scene from a
film and has been repeatedly debunked.
The pages were not just targeted at upcoming elections, Schott said,
but aimed to change politics by giving a false impression of
grassroots support for their content.
“We
feel [these networks] have a significant impact, they run
disinformation campaigns that go on for years, for example, making a
specific issue seem more important.”
The investigation was carried out by independent investigators and
journalists hired by Avaaz after an online funding drive. More than
47,000 people donated small sums, making the project financially
independent.
Facebook had followed up on the investigation, but at no point did
the Avaaz team work with the social media firm, it said. Instead, it
handed over its findings for Facebook to verify and take action, and
investigations were still under way.
“We
think Facebook did a good job so far of acting, but should have done
a better job of detecting these pages,” Schott said. “They should
do this themselves. We are around 30 people, they have over
30,000 in
their safety and security team.”
The UK might be leaving Europe…
… but
The Guardian definitely isn’t. In the current climate of
uncertainty and tension, we remain deeply committed to our European
coverage. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue our
mission to look outwards rather than inwards, to stay connected and
inclusive.
As the EU elections approach, we will hear daily from our
correspondents across Europe, explore and investigate the themes that
divide and unite the continent, with all its imperfections,
challenges and strengths. The Guardian aims to offer its readers a
global perspective on these important events.
More people are reading and supporting our independent, investigative
reporting than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we
have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism
accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can
afford.
The Guardian is editorially independent, meaning we set our own
agenda. Our journalism is free from commercial bias and not
influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one
edits our editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important as it
enables us to give a voice to those less heard, challenge the
powerful and hold them to account. It’s what makes us different to
so many others in the media, at a time when factual, honest reporting
is critical.
Every
contribution we receive from readers like you, big or small, goes
directly into funding our journalism. This support enables us to keep
working as we do – but we must maintain and build on it for every
year to come. Support
The Guardian from as little as €1 – and it only takes a minute.
Thank you.
Avaaz
uncovers 500 accounts using fake news to spread white suprem
Commenti
Posta un commento