Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Investigation into online platforms finds 'foul trove of racial hatred'

Investigation into online platforms finds 'foul trove of racial hatred'

The Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right, which carried out the research, said: "It makes you wonder what the point of moderation is when some of these obvious, overt and in some cases violence-inciting accounts can go literally years with no consequences, and certainly no moderation."

An investigation has exposed hundreds of thousands of online hate profiles, leading to a call for tougher regulation of online platforms.

A "foul trove of racial hatred" was uncovered on Twitter and Facebook as well as amongst the gaming community through research conducted by the UK-based Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR).

It comes six months after a public outcry at the abuse of England footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were targeted online after missing penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

Researchers found around 300 users or profile names on Twitter derived from a racist phrase


What was found on Twitter?


During their two-day analysis carried out in January, CARR researchers looked for profiles using simple words and phrases as indicators of "systemic failure".

On Twitter, they found around 300 users or profile names derived from a racist phrase, including the N-word, dating as far back as 2009.

Dr Edward Gillbard, who carried out the research, said the majority of accounts had fewer than two followers and were following less than two accounts.

He added that it would "appear there is no automatic moderation being performed by Twitter" in terms of analysing accounts for offensive usernames.

Twitter said the accounts had been "permanently suspended" for "violating our hateful conduct policy".

A spokesman said: "We acknowledge and want to reiterate our commitment to ensuring that Twitter doesn't become a forum that facilitates abuse and we continue to examine our own policy approaches and ways we can enforce our rules at speed and scale."

What was discovered on Facebook?


On Facebook, dozens of offensive profiles, including 83 variants of "hate (N-word)" and 91 on the Holocaust were identified.

Other profiles included the name Adolf Hitler and other high profile Nazis, as well as the names of mass killers such as the Christchurch mosque attacker in New Zealand.

By changing the spelling or inserting spaces and special characters, profiles seemed to be able to fool moderation systems, Dr Bethan Johnson, who found the accounts, said.

"It may be that when users set up profiles with names that clearly mock and flout community standards - from 'Jewkilla' to 'Nate Higgers' - they are telling Facebook what kind of user they will be, what kind of ideas they bring to the platform, and the reality is that is far from community-orientated," she said.

A spokesman for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said hate speech was not allowed on its platforms and the "violating" accounts were removed after being flagged.

He added: "If we find content that violates our policies, including the use of symbols, emojis or misspellings attempting to beat our systems, we will remove it."

Offensive profiles were also found on Facebook.


What about gaming platforms?


An analysis of the digital gaming service Steam revealed more than 300,000 offensive profile names.

Of those, 241,729 were anti-black, 44,368 white supremacist, more than 28,000 neo-Nazi, 8,021 anti-Semitic, 5,607 homophobic, and 168 anti-Muslim.

On the game Fortnite, more than 100 racist and far-right extremist profile names were found and 34 were identified on Rainbow Six Siege, 18 of which were active.

A spokeswoman for Fortnite developer Epic Games said many of the offensive usernames are no longer in their systems and action has been taken against additional accounts provided.

"Usernames that include vulgarity, hate speech, offensive or derogatory language of any kind are in violation of our community rules," she added.

It is understood that the Rainbow Six Siege profiles have been reset with randomised names and any offending pictures have been removed.

A spokesman for the game's creator Ubisoft said the company "does not tolerate any form of bullying or harassment".

The firm takes "concrete actions" to tackle "toxic" behaviour, and violations of its code of conduct could lead to sanctions, including bans, he said.

While automated processes were not "foolproof", teams are constantly working on improving them, he added.

What has the reaction been?

"Finding a foul trove of racial hatred on social media is still shockingly easy," said director of CARR, Professor Matthew Feldman.

"It makes you wonder what the point of moderation is when some of these obvious, overt and in some cases violence-inciting accounts can go literally years with no consequences, and certainly no moderation.

"This material is disgusting and makes it seem that platforms just don't care enough to address this running sore."

He added that platforms had a "duty of care" to users but only government regulations and the threat of tens of millions in fines would bring change.

"Otherwise, these platforms will stay reactive - badly - rather than proactive in taking down hateful extremism," Prof Feldman added.

Danny Stone MBE, chief executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust which jointly published the report, said: "Six months from the Euro finals, a year from the insurrection at the US capitol, but the story remains the same - social media companies profiting from the sale of our data but failing to properly protect people from harm."

He added: "I hope the forthcoming Online Safety Bill, and legislation across the world, will force social media companies to better look after their users because they appear to be in no hurry to help."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
×