Status: 13.10.2021 3:05 p.m.
An internal Facebook list has been published in the USA – with groups and organizations that are classified as dangerous because of hateful content. Many right-wing extremist groups from Germany are listed.
Islamist terrorists, criminal gangs, right-wing extremist groups: Facebook has listed groups, organizations and people on an internal list that are classified as dangerous and should therefore not appear on the platform. This previously secret list has now been published.
The magazine “The Intercept“published a reproduction of the internal Facebook list, the editors added some comments to the entries. The magazine publishes the list according to its own information so that the public can judge the quality of the moderation on Facebook. The magazine also evaluated the list and came to the conclusion that more than half of the cases belong to the phenomenon of terrorism, around 17 percent belong to the category “hatred”.
The list is intended to help the company stop the spread of propaganda. Therefore, Facebook not only deletes accounts that belong to the groups and organizations mentioned, but also partially restricts discussions about them – at least as far as terrorist groups are concerned.
The move apparently began in 2012 when Facebook placed a ban on “organizations with a history of terrorist or violent criminal activity” in its community standards, amid growing concerns in the US Congress and the United Nations about online terrorist recruitment recorded, writes “The Intercept”.
Numerous right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi groups and organizations from Germany can be found on the list, for example the “Identitarian Movement”, the parties Dierechte and III. Weg or groups of “Autonomous Nationalists” and “Comradeships”. There are also various bands from the Nazi spectrum on the list, as well as hooligan groups such as “Inferno Cottbus 99”. A total of almost 200 people, groups or organizations from Germany can be found on the list.
Far right militias not classified as terrorists
It is noticeable that various right-wing extremist militias in the USA are not classified as terrorist, but appear in the category of “armed social movements”. The restrictions in this category are not as extensive as those of terrorists. US secret services see the racist militias as the greatest threat to security in the US at the moment.
“The Intercept” quotes experts who believe that Facebook created this sub-category in order not to come under too much pressure from ultra-conservative groups in the USA.