Facebook apologizes for its role in anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka

Dubai: Facebook has apologized for its role in sectarian unrest in the anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka in 2018.

According to a TV report, the investigation revealed that there was a dramatic increase in violence against Muslims following hate speech, speeches and rumors on Facebook.

It may be recalled that riots broke out in Sri Lanka in 2018 and the situation was aggravated due to anti-Muslim ideologies on Facebook, after which the government declared a state of emergency and blocked access to Facebook in the country. Violent incidents against Muslims were sparked by hateful content on Facebook.

"We condemn the misuse of our platform, we recognize the real impact of human rights and apologize for them," Facebook said in a statement to Bloomberg News. At least three people were killed and 20 injured when mosques and Muslim businesses were set on fire, especially in the Buddhist-majority region of Sinalis. Muslims make up 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million population. And 7.6% Christians.


The Human Rights Watch (HRW) commissioned an investigation into the alleged violence, which led to hate speech and rumors on Facebook. According to the investigation, Facebook had disputed its platform before the riots. And it did nothing to remove the rumored content, which led to an increase in hate speech.

Officials said that in 2018, anti-Muslim groups on Facebook planned joint attacks, and at that time only two people were assigned by the Facebook administration to monitor the content.

According to Article One, there are 4.4 million active users per day in Sri Lanka. In addition, the report states that the Facebook administration has admitted that it has taken extraordinary steps in the last two years to curb controversial content.

"We have blocked the delivery of more than one shared content in Sri Lanka, which was largely based on lies," the Facebook administration said in a statement.