Facebook is putting its money where its mouth is. The social media company and several other organizations devoted to quelling violent speech on the web are funneling more than 1 million euros into a new effort called the Online Civil Courage Initiative, which was announced in Berlin. The announcement comes as hate speech against refugees pouring into Europe is proliferating. “Hate speech has no place in our society — not even on the internet. Facebook is not a place for the dissemination of hate speech or incitement to violence,” said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in a statement on Monday.
The new program will help several European nonprofits fund anti-hate speech marketing campaigns. The money will also fuel the development of best practices for preventing and dismantling prejudiced or violent posts on social media sites. It’s not exactly clear how the development of standards will strengthen Facebook’s overall anti-hate strategy, which for years has come across as lackluster. FULL REPORT
