Facebook has recommended thousands of Isis supporters to each other through its ‘suggested friends’ element, a study reveals.
The feature, designed to connect similar minded Facebook users based on their common interests, actively helps terrorists build up their networks, critics suggest.
A study by an American non-profit organisation, the Counter Extremism Project, reveals the extent to which the algorithm has helped Isis and will be published later this month.
Facebook has recommended thousands of Isis supporters to each other through its ‘suggested friends’ element, a study reveals
The online profiles of a thousand Isis supporters across 96 countries were studied by CEP researchers.
They found that radical Islamists were often introduced to each other with the researchers even being recommended dozens of extremists as potential new friends after observing the profiles.
Robert Postings, of the CEP, told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Facebook, in its desire to connect as many people as possible, has inadvertently created a system which helps connect extremists and terrorists.’
He warns that those who had only been curious could quickly be radicalised after befriending an extremist.
One example given described how a non-Muslim in New York was quickly radicalised in only six months after accepting a friend request from an Isis supporter.
The social media platform is often criticised for failing to rid its site of extremist material and the new study found that less than half of the profiles monitored were suspended during a six-month period.
The feature, designed to connect similar minded Facebook users based on their common interests, actively helps terrorists build up networks, critics suggest
And despite the Isis propaganda discovered, Facebook would reinstate accounts after their owners complained – with the account of one British terror suspect reactivated nine times.
Simon Hart, a Conservative MP who sits on Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, said: ‘The idea that Facebook is inadvertently providing an introduction service for terrorists is quite extraordinary. It is another terrifying example of the unintended consequences of this sort of technology.’
The CEP said its findings had ‘laid bare’ Facebook’s inability to handle extremist content.
A spokesman for Facebook said: ‘There is no place for terrorists on Facebook. We work aggressively to ensure that we do not have terrorists or terror groups using the site, and we also remove any content that praises or supports terrorism.
‘Our approach is working – 99 per cent of ISIS and Al Qaeda-related content we remove is found by our automated systems. But there is no easy technical fix to fight online extremism.’