Google seemingly neglected to keep an eye on Google Plus after it failed to become a competitor to Facebook or Twitter, resulting in a plethora of pro-ISIS propaganda going unchecked.
“Kill them where you find them,” a 2017 post on Google plus says in Arabic and English, The Hill reports, in support of the 2017 Barcelona terror attack that took 12 lives, plus eight terrorists, and left 152 injured.
“A message to Muslims sitting in the West,” another post reads. “Trust Allah, that each drop of bloodshed there relieves pressure on us here.”
Executive director of the Digital Citizens Alliance, Tom Galvin, argues that Google failed to keep an eye on Google Plus after it failed to become a social media competitor to Facebook or Twitter, saying it like an “abandoned warehouse where ISIS comes to work.”
Social media sites have been struggling with removing propaganda from radical Islamic terrorists, thanks in part to internet archiving, a lack of enforcement of platforms’ own rules, and features meant to help users connect with each other.
Internet Archive’s “Way Back Machine” has been used to preserve pro-ISIS propaganda before websites can remove it from their platforms, according to a report conducted by business firm Flashpoint, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on May 16. The report analyzed over 1 million web links from 2015 to 2017 from the un-searchable corners of the internet called the “Dark Web.”
Facebook’s “suggested friends” feature helped connect terrorists together, an ironic twist of the social media network’s mission to “build a global community.” Researchers from the Counter Extremism Project found that pro-ISIS actors from 96 countries were introduced to each other through suggested friends, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on May 7.
Another report found that Facebook hasn’t been removing some of the pro-ISIS content, The Daily Caller News Foundation reported on May 19. Digital Citizens Alliance worked with Global Intellectual Property Enforcement Center to conduct a review that found a gallery of pro-ISIS content. One example shows a pro-ISIS post from 2016 that was up until at least May 1 that says, “ALLAHU AKBAR” and shows ISIS terrorists waving their black flag.
“While we recognize we have more to do, we’re committed to getting this right,” a Google spokesperson said, The Hill reported on Wednesday. (RELATED: Internet Archive Removes Evidence That Companies Sold Stalkerware, But Not ISIS Propaganda)
“Google rejects terrorism and has a strong track record of taking swift action against terrorist content,” he added. “We have clear policies prohibiting terrorist recruitment and content intending to incite violence and we quickly remove content violating these policies when flagged by our users. We also terminate accounts run by terrorist organizations or those that violate our policies.”
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