On Friday, Amnesty International accused Meta of complicity in genocide for its dangerous Facebook algorithms in the 2017 genocidal purge which took place against the Rohingya.
The report by Amnesty also describes how Meta recklessly pursuit of profit substantially contributed to the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people in 2017.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard said, “In 2017, the Rohingya were killed, tortured, raped, and displaced in the thousands as part of the Myanmar security forces’ campaign of ethnic cleansing. In the months and years leading up to the atrocities, Facebook’s algorithms were intensifying a storm of hatred against the Rohingya which contributed to real-world violence.”
She also added that, “While the Myanmar military was committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, Meta was profiting from the echo chamber of hatred created by its hate-spiraling algorithms. Meta must be held to account. The company now has a responsibility to provide reparations to all those who suffered the violent consequences of their reckless actions.”
Following the accusation, Amnesty International launched a new campaign calling for Meta Platforms, Inc. to meet the “Rohingya’s demands for remediation.” This strengthens the claims that have been made since 2019 by the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation which has called upon Meta/Facebook to meet with Rohingya leaders and discuss reparations to be paid to the communities directly.
More Rohingya refugee groups have made direct requests to Meta to provide remedy by funding a USD $1 million education project in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The funding request represents just 0.002% of Meta’s profits of $46.7 billion from 2021. In February 2021, Meta rejected the Rohingya community’s request, stating “Facebook doesn’t directly engage in philanthropic activities.”
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