Ferras Hamad claims in lawsuit that Meta fired him for trying to fix bugs causing the suppression of Palestinians’ Instagram posts.
From The Guardian on June 5, 2024
Palestinian-American engineer accuses Meta of firing him over Gaza content
Racist Technology in Action: Meta systemically censors and silences Palestinian content globally
The censorship and silencing of Palestinian voices, and voices of those who support Palestine, is not new. However, since the escalation of Israel’s violence on the Gaza strip since 7 October 2023, the scale of censorship has significantly heightened, particular on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. In December 2023, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a 51-page report*, stating that Meta has engaged in systematic and global censorship of content related to Palestine since October 7th.
Continue reading “Racist Technology in Action: Meta systemically censors and silences Palestinian content globally”The racial economy of Instagram
This paper explores the mechanisms of white supremacy within digital spaces in relation to the body/embodiment, social justice movements, and the nature and expression of contemporary feminism. New digital political economies work through social media such as Instagram to colonise, disempower and obscure the work of Black feminists in the sphere of fat liberation (re-framed as ‘body positivity’), and in terms of imperatives for self-care, which have been co-opted by an emerging online wellness industry. I call to account the pervasiveness of neoliberal logics which are re-shaping (post)feminism and re-inscribing white supremacy onto bodies online and offline through ‘disciplined whiteness’.
By Sinéad O’Connor for RGS-IBG Publications Hub on September 28, 2023
Instagram apologises for adding ‘terrorist’ to some Palestinian user profiles
Parent company Meta says bug caused ‘inappropriate’ auto-translations and was now fixed while employee says it pushed ‘a lot of people over the edge’.
By Josh Taylor for The Guardian on October 20, 2023
Inventing language to avoid algorithmic censorship
Platforms like Tiktok, Twitch and Instagram use algorithmic filters to automatically block certain posts on the basis of the language they use. The Washington Post shows how this has created ‘algospeak’, a whole new vocabulary. So instead of ‘dead’ users write ‘unalive’, they use ‘SA’ instead of ‘sexual assault’, and write ‘spicy eggplant’ rather than ‘vibrator’.
Continue reading “Inventing language to avoid algorithmic censorship”Internet ‘algospeak’ is changing our language in real time, from ‘nip nops’ to ‘le dollar bean’
To avoid angering the almighty algorithm, people are creating a new vocabulary.
By Taylor Lorenz for Washington Post on April 8, 2022
Technologies of Black Freedoms: Calling On Black Studies Scholars, with SA Smythe
Refusing to see like a state.
By J. Khadijah Abdurahman and SA Smythe for Logic on December 25, 2022
Revealed: the software that studies your Facebook friends to predict who may commit a crime
Voyager, which pitches its tech to police, has suggested indicators such as Instagram usernames that show Arab pride can signal inclination towards extremism.
By Johana Bhuiyan and Sam Levin for The Guardian on November 17, 2021
Photo filters are keeping colorism alive
Many people use filters on social media to ‘beautify’ their pictures. In this article, Tate Ryan-Mosley discusses how these beauty filters can perpetuate colorism. Colorism has a long and complicated history, but can be summarised as a preference for whiter skin as opposed to darker skin. Ryan-Mosley explains that “though related to racism, it’s distinct in that it can affect people regardless of their race, and can have different effects on people of the same background.” The harmful effects of colorism, ranging from discrimination to mental health issues or the use of toxic skin-lightening products, are found across races and cultures.
Continue reading “Photo filters are keeping colorism alive”A ‘safe space for racists’: antisemitism report criticises social media giants
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok failing to act on most reported anti-Jewish posts, says study.
By Maya Wolfe-Robinson for The Guardian on August 1, 2021
Tech companies poured 3.8 billion USD into racial justice, but to what avail?
The Plug and Fast Company looked at what happened to the 3.8 billion dollars that US-based tech companies committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as their response to the Black Lives Matter protests.
Continue reading “Tech companies poured 3.8 billion USD into racial justice, but to what avail?”Apple’s emoji keyboard is reinforcing Western stereotypes
The feature associates “Africa” with the hut emoji and “China” with the dog emoji.
By Andrew Deck for Rest of World on June 15, 2021
Facebook Oversight Board: Case decision 2021-002-FB-UA
The Oversight Board has upheld Facebook’s decision to remove specific content that violated the express prohibition on posting caricatures of Black people in the form of blackface, contained in its Hate Speech Community Standard.
From Oversight Board on April 13, 2021
Toezichtsraad: Zwarte Piet is raciaal stereotype en wordt terecht geweerd van Facebook en Instagram
Het weren van beelden van Zwarte Piet past in het beleid van Facebook om racistische blackface-stereotypen op zijn platforms tegen te gaan. Dat oordeelt een externe raad bij wie gebruikers en Facebook zelf kunnen toetsen of iets terecht wordt verwijderd of niet.
By Pieter Sabel for Volkskrant on April 13, 2021
Corporatespeak and racial injustice
In light of the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. and protests against police brutality in Europe, technology companies have been quick to release corporate statements, commitments, campaigns and initiatives to tackle discrimination and racial injustice. Amber Hamilton evaluated 63 public facing documents from major technology companies such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Airbnb and TikTok.
Continue reading “Corporatespeak and racial injustice”What’s missing from corporate statements on racial injustice? The real cause of racism.
An analysis of 63 recent statements shows that US tech companies repeatedly placed responsibility for racial injustice on Black people.
By Amber M. Hamilton for MIT Technology Review on September 5, 2020
Instagram row over plus-size model forces change to nudity policy
Facebook amends code after deletion of black users’ photos sparks outrage.
By Nosheen Iqbal for The Guardian on October 25, 2020
Instagram censored one of these photos but not the other. We must ask why
Celeste Barber’s latest parody photo was flagged by the platform, but its algorithm’s prejudices aren’t a new problem.
By Lacey-Jade Christie for The Guardian on October 19, 2020
Instagram ‘censorship’ of black model’s photo reignites claims of race bias
#IwanttoseeNyome outcry after social media platform repeatedly removes pictures of Nyome Nicholas-Williams.
By Nosheen Iqbal for The Guardian on August 9, 2020