Friday, November 15, 2019

Why Facebook Filtering Will Ultimately Fail

In its content-moderation report released this week, Facebook revealed that it had removed a whopping 3.2-billion fake accounts from March through September 2019.

That’s a lot of disinformation, wrote tech reporter Aditya Srivastava: “To put it in perspective, the number is [nearly] half of living human beings on planet earth.”

Facebook also claims to have removed or labeled 54-million pieces of content flagged as too violent and graphic, 18.5-million items deemed sexual exploitation, 11.4-million posts breaking its anti-hate speech rules, and 5.7 million that violated its bullying and harassment policies.

We need to consider these large-seeming numbers in the context of the social-media giant’s astronomical growth. Facebook, Inc. now hosts so much content that it’s hard to imagine any filtering apparatus that’s capable of sorting it all out.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted to Congress last month that more than 100-billion pieces of content are shared via Facebook entities (including Instagram and WhatsApp) each day.

Bear with me because the math gets interesting.

A hundred-billion pieces of content a day amounts to roughly 18 trillion (with a “t”) pieces of content over the six-month period covered in Facebook’s moderation report.

Or to put it in Srivastava’s terms, that’s comparable to having every living individual on Earth posting content to Facebook platforms 13 times each and every day.

That’s where we are today.

Content armies
To filter this tsunami of images and text in search of suspicious posts, Facebook has deployed an army of more than 30,000 content moderators, and is aided in this effort by artificial intelligence designed to flag content that may violate its rules.

It reminds me of my experiences working as a journalist in Hanoi during the pre-internet early 90s.

My minder from Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture and Information told me that the government employed more than 10,000 people skilled in foreign languages to monitor all outgoing and incoming phone calls and faxes, which is how we communicated back then.

Even in an era still dominated by analog communications, the ministry’s many listeners struggled to keep up.

And while I received the occasional knock on the door from ministry apparatchik concerned about a recent phone conversation I had had or a recent article I had published, the vast majority of my work — including stories the government would have frowned on — went through to my editors in Hong Kong and Tokyo without detection.

Fast forward to 2019.

Just last month, a fairly senior Facebook employee told me that the company is shooting for a 99-percent global success rate in flagging content that violates its rules regarding hateful or racist activity.

But it still has a way to go. And even a 99-percent filter may not be good enough.

Too big NOT to fail
In its most recent report, the social-media giant claimed to have reached an 80-percent “proactive rate” — a metric by which the company measures its ability to flag hateful content before its community of users has done so.

What does this mean? It means a lot of things. One, that Facebook seems to be taking some serious efforts to combat hateful activities and disinformation coursing across its network.

But it also means that despite these efforts, the flood of content remains far too overwhelming to manage; that even at a very high proactive rate, millions of posts that violate the company’s rules would still slip through.

And its average success rate is likely a lot lower in countries where Facebook lacks language and cultural expertise (or some would argue, economic interest) to effectively flag harmful content.

report released by Avaaz at the end of October seems to confirm this. Avaaz found that Facebook removed only 96 of 213 posts it had flagged for attacking India’s Bengali Muslim community using similar online tactics as those used against Rohingya minorities in Myanmar.

One post came from an elected official calling “Bangladeshi Muslims” those who rape “our mothers and sisters.” Others included calls to “poison” their daughters and legalize female feticide.

So, again, what does this mean?

It means that even when operating at optimal levels Facebook’s content-moderation schemes will still miss posts that incite people to inflict real offline violence to some of the most vulnerable among us. And its algorithms will still promote content that provokes strongly partisan and divisive reactions among users.

It also means that we as a society need to do more than hope that Facebook can fix itself. After devoting nearly two decades to growth at any cost, the company’s network has become far too big NOT to fail — even when you consider the resources Facebook is now throwing at filtering and flagging objectionable content. And those failures are having dangerous ramifications in the real world.

Our challenge is to look beyond fixing Facebook to building a new model for social media that doesn’t violate human and civil rights, or undermine democratic norms.

There’s only so much Facebook can do to fix the problem at its core. The solution lies elsewhere, with those of us willing to create a better platform from scratch.

30 comments:

Breet Pink said...

If you are looking for find some helping material about spectrum extreme internet, spectrum internet service, spectrum internet ultra, spectrum internet cost, spectrum internet packages then you are at right blog page because it is very informational blog. I recommend.

Breet Pink said...

If you are looking for spectrum gold channels, spectrum tv gold,spectrum gold channels and charter silver package channel listing then this blog is best for you because it has detailed information about this. And It helps you because it help me is depth. Recommended.

Lucknawi Zayka said...

oday we will make Chole Bhature
Chole Bhature is a famous dish of Punjab and is the street food of Delhi.
It is really tasty and it is liked by everyone.
It is easy to prepare Chole Bhature at home.
Full Recipe Click Here

Techlinics said...

Free Computer Tutorialand Digital Marketing Tips and tricks Join now
Visit My Site
Techlinics
ComputerGyan

finnjordan100 said...

Webroot makes sure that you have the best security software products installed on your computer, it uses antivirus protection and a firewall, gives antispyware software, always keeps it up to date.
www.webroot.com/secure | webroot.com/secure | Install Webroot With Key Code

elibeth3636 said...

The AVG AntiVirus Free software offers protection against viruses, spyware, malware, trojan horses, worms, keyloggers, ransomware and a variety of other malicious threats.
www.avg.com/retail |
avg.com/retail

kasperskyvbh said...

I really happy found this website eventually. Really informative and inoperative, Thanks for the post and effort! Please keep sharing more such blog.

norton.com/setup

www.spectrum.net/login

kaspersky activation

aolmail.com

aolmail.com

mcafee.com/activate

willian vivian said...

When I thought about the way things have been recently, i owe my thanks to God for letting me find this amazing personality, i mailed Mr. alex roughly 2 months now, I was actually very uncertain about investing, very scared because i was also low on cash.I gave it my all, my first investment of $2,000 two weeks ago brought me $ 29,230 last week, and what intrigues me the most is the way him handles he partners, i recommend him too to my friend jeff, after trading with him, his testimonies have let me come here to attest for him. We are happy to meet a professional in you. I am proud to recommend him to any person who has a passion for trading, meet a good mentor and get good fortunes.Contact this veteran at: totalinvestmentcompany@gmail.com

soniyamehra12 said...

The Bangalore Escorts Services also spots connected as your girlfriend and far half inside the make any difference of sex, but, the only variance they received’t wait to meet ambitions
||nagpur escorts
||escorts in nagpur
||escort in nagpur
||nagpur escort
||independent nagpur escorts
||independent escorts in nagpur
||escort service in nagpur
||nagpur escorts service
||nagpur female escorts
||nagpur russian escorts
||escort agency in nagpur
||female escort in nagpur
||call girls in nagpur
||nagpur call girl
||nagpur escort girls
||nagpur escorts agency

soniyamehra12 said...

||kochi escorts
||escorts in Kochi
||escort in Kochi
||kochi escort
||independent kochi escorts
||independent escorts in kochi
||escort service in kochi
||kochi escorts service
||kochi female escorts
||kochi russian escorts
||escort agency in kochi
||female escort in kochi
||call girls in kochi
||kochi call girl
||kochi escort girls
||kochi escorts agency

Aiden Jangra said...

If you have set up the wireless connection between your hp printer.Hp Wireless Printer setup on mac is an excellent Wireless Printer to assist your business concepts.

Roku-comlink said...

When you are using Roku devices you might have already known the Roku troubleshooting issues that come across while Roku activate account.

Admin said...

Nice Post
Beautiful Places To Explore In California
Amazing Things That Can Do In South Africa
Best Things That Can Do In Italy

Tech To Review said...

Our list of top 5 leading telecom companies in the United States give insights into the top telecom companies in US and how they manage to provide best-in-class services even at this time of pandemic.

remmy said...

I am a blogger. My Self its john, from Florida , USA. I’ve been working in my field for several years. I am passionate about what I do, and it shows in my work and proven track record. Want ot knows my work…Follow me on my social channels, or contact me directly -
Your blog is very Use full and satisfy to other reader. Nice working and great job.
IaMcAfee, an object that ready to suspend all infections from your PC….Source: mcafee.com/activate Antivirus is an item that gives a wide combination of infection area procedures as it doesn't simply prevent diseases from entering your PC structure yet executes or releases infections that have crossed the firewall. mcafee login | install mcafee with activation code

remmy said...

Hey its john,I joned this communities for purpose of promote my technical site.Norton setup is where do you enter the Norton Setup Key at norton.com/setup to enact and introduce Norton item. Norton password generatot tools avoilable on Norton website :
norton.com/setup || norton download | norton login | norton.com/setup | Norton setup | norton password generator

sathiclap said...

If you own an expensive and high-technology washing machine, you must need a top-notch Washing Machine Service Center to get it repaired. Yes, you can’t put your washing machine at risk by handing it over to a local mechanic. But where to get a professional who can assist your washing machine carefully. SathiCalp provides on-demand, on-site, and hasslefree Washing Machine Service Center in Patna where you rest assured with best-in-class repair services. We are backed with an excellent team of professionals who hold expertise in the field of washing machine repairing. Our technicians are trained enough to repair your delicate washing machine at your doorstep without caring about your location in the Patna city.

si-oaji9kojphda said...

We have discovered two metal ion binding compounds, pyrithione (PT) and hinokitiol (HK), that efficiently inhibit human rhinovirus, coxsackievirus, and mengovirus multiplication. Early stages of virus infection are unaffected by these compounds. However, the cleavage of the cellular eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4GI by the rhinoviral 2A protease was abolished in the presence of PT and HK. We further show that these compounds inhibit picornavirus replication by interfering with proper processing of the viral polyprotein.

Available evidence suggests that a combination of Zinc + Hinokitiol are synergistic in inhibiting growth of viruses including SARS-COV. Dr ZinX Oral Spray is a novel patented oral formulation (Patent number: 2020900820) consisting of Zinc and Hinokitiol. Dr ZinX has the potential to reduce the viral load in oral mucosa, reducing chances of human-human transmission and severity of COVID-19.

Unknown said...

Someone’s libido cannot be satisfied completely because it’s natural and there is no way to please it, so you can just enjoy it. If you are looking for improved sexual life and want to keep your partner happy, we have high-quality Epimedium for Sale online. It is 100% proven and lab-tested to keep you on the bed for the maximized time.

Garmincom.express said...

If you love traveling, then Garmin Express is of great use for you, who is in constant need to track their location and navigation. You can get your computer downloaded with the Garmin Express application.

100mcxtips Best Commodity Tips Provider said...


Your content is very attractive and useful in which the authenticity looks like the services of our website are also authentic and the content is also useful.
http://mcxbulliontips.in/

Whole Sales King said...

That explains why IL FORNO does not represent a national wat of cooking so much as an encyclopedic fund of recipes, techniques and flavors of local inspiration.
buy italian food online in Abu Dhabi

CouponsGifts said...

Deliver best online shopping experience in worlds that deals in Laptops,Tablets,Gaming PCs,Cosmetics,LCDs,LEDs,Electronics Accessories,Smart Watches, Makeup products include lipstick, lipliner, mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner, foundation, blush, highlighter, bronzer, primer and several others. However, the legal definition of cosmetics in most countries is broader.
Best Gaming PCs & Accessories in Pakistan.


coupon gift free

Garmin.com/express-updates said...

When Garmin Express not be working, along with simple steps that will help you take care of the issue. So, read on garmin.com/express and solve the problem quickly. it is necessary to keep your map updated, and that is easily possible when you keep Garmin express updates.

Fubo.tv/Activate said...

You know how to create the connection successfully using Fubo.tv/Connect Enter Code, know how much you have to pay to use FuboTV and devices that support it. your monthly bill could increase significantly if you opt for add-on packages for extra channels and features.

Anonymous said...

If you facing any issues due to Microsoft Office on the Windows or mac iOS, tablet and Mobile, for example the error code 30010-4 shows. and want to fix it, now follow the online instruction for removing the errors and also chat with our expert available 24/7 || How to fix Office error code 30010-4

hastencleanse@gmail.com said...

Hasten Cleanse LLC of Houston, Texas, USA produces a powerful product for tank cleaning in the petrochemical sector. We strive to deliver a quality product with professionalism unrivaled in the marketplace. We will do whatever it takes to be your vendor of choice in the hydrocarbon cleanup arena.

hastenchemical@gmail.com said...

Hasten Chemical is a team of professionals who work to maximize the bottom line results of its clients. As a wholesaler of chemical products, Hasten provides unconditional commitment to excellence in quality, that will provide consistent results, and make us the partner of choice to help produce and maintain growth of Products and Service Companies.

Hasten Contracting

Unknown said...

Jim Corbett National park offers exciting escapades for people who love adventure activities. Visit this exotic place and cherish the time you spend here. If you are searching for the Best Hotels in Jim Corbett, then you have a range of option to choose from. Jim Corbett Hotels offer you ultra comfort and amazing amenities that'll make your stay perfect.

Fubotv Activate said...

You can easily view LIVE FuboTv on other devices.For connective to your TV, you can either do it by entering an activation code, or you can do by entering your credentials. It is effortless to connect with some basic steps only. Thus, FuboTv is available at a meager cost compared to any cable TV and offers enhanced flexibility.
Fubo.Tv/Connect
Fubo.Tv/Activate