Facebook needs to do more to stop hate speech in Bangladesh
In recent years, with internet access being ensured in almost all corners of Bangladesh, there has been a worrying increase in incidents of people spreading hate speech through social media, especially Facebook
There are certain patterns that emerge when you study genocide. One of the key elements in perpetuating this heinous act is the spreading of hate speech and hateful propaganda.
Throughout history, some of the common mediums for spreading hate speech have been newspapers, radio or other broadcasts. But social media is quickly becoming the medium for the modern era, as it is a more convenient and effective platform for spreading hate speech and misinformation.
In this age of digital connectivity, the role of social media in shaping public opinion and generating public response is undeniable. Just as social media has contributed to creating awareness about human rights, this technology is becoming the most popular and primary means of disseminating hate speech.
In recent years, with internet access being ensured in almost all corners of Bangladesh, there has been a worrying increase in incidents of people spreading hate speech through social media, especially Facebook. This is usually done by writing posts, creating memes, spreading false information, etc.
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A scroll through the newsfeed reveals a plethora of hateful content towards the Rohingya and minority Hindu community, support for the killing of transgender people and atheists, misinformation and propaganda against the country's ethnic minority communities, among other things.
In one tragic recent incident, a college student was killed by some individuals belonging to the ethnic minority group. This murder was an isolated incident, but it was widely circulated on Facebook that the killers committed the murder because the ethnic minority community in question practised cannibalism. This completely baseless information spread like wildfire on Facebook and further increased hate speech towards that community.
It has now become a daily occurrence to use Facebook to spread rumours and create hatred against Hindu minorities. In 2021, we witnessed one of the worst bouts of communal violence in Bangladesh. Several Hindu religious sites were vandalised and homes were destroyed. Many were killed and injured.
In response to these attacks, Mia Seppo, the former United Nations resident coordinator tweeted, "Recent attacks on Hindus of Bangladesh, fuelled by hate speech on social media, are against the values of the Constitution and need to stop."
Similarly, we recently saw students of a reputed private university protesting against the invitation of Hochemin Islam, a transgender woman, at one of their events as a speaker. Eventually, she was barred from speaking at the event.
Explaining the matter, Hochemin Islam wrote, "The organisers were fighting for me, but the authorities did not want me there. They [factions of protesting students] said I was coming to promote LGBT communities."
The prime factor behind this incident was indeed transphobia; however, this hatred towards her first spread through Facebook. With the spread of misinformation and hate speech, public opinion on her formed and slowly shifted into a movement.
In many debates, hate speech is justified as mere opinion, but hate speech is never an opinion. An opinion may offend an individual, but when an opinion is such that it incites deep hatred of certain individuals and communities, or calls on the public to hurt or kill an individual or a group of people, it is no longer an opinion. It's hate speech, and it's definitely a crime.
Ten Stages of Genocide by Gregory H. Stanton rightly mentions that the spreading of hate speech is one of the phases of genocide, i.e., the stages of classification, discrimination and dehumanisation. Thus, spreading hate speech is a crime that could later amount to heinous crimes like genocide.
Social media, especially Facebook in the context of Bangladesh, is easily accessible, convenient and low-cost to use. The number of Facebook users in Bangladesh is higher than that of other social media sites (around 52.9 million). However, a large number of users are unaware of safe internet practices. Furthermore, Facebook does not provide any efficient guidelines that can be easily understood by its user base.
Facebook authorities have the means to control these incidents. Facebook has its own community guidelines by which they monitor all activities on this platform and take action as needed; for example, Facebook deletes posts containing false information.
Even if it is not reported to Facebook, it can still monitor and take action, which is arbitrary in some cases. For example, on the Israel-Palestine issue, the Facebook company Meta reduces the reach of posts supporting Palestine and removes posts that are anti-Israel.
This proves that Facebook has ways of monitoring hate speech and taking action but it is insufficient, continuing the cycle of hate and further isolating the victims. Facebook must take more effective measures to properly monitor hate speech before it is too late.
Fariha Tasnim is an LL.B. student at Jagannath University. She is working as a Research Assistant at Map of Justice.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
