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WORLD NEWS Thursday 16 June 2022
Study: Facebook fails to catch East Africa extremist content

By CARA ANNA under different names,
Associated Press Ayad said, describing seri-
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A ous lapses by both artificial
new study has found that intelligence and human
Facebook has failed to moderators.
catch Islamic State group "Why are they not acting
and al-Shabab extremist on rampant content put up
content in posts aimed at by al-Shabab?" he asked.
East Africa as the region "You'd think that after 20
remains under threat from years of dealing with al-
violent attacks and Kenya Qaida, they'd have a good
prepares to vote in a close- understanding of the lan-
ly contested national elec- guage they use, the sym-
tion. bolism."
An Associated Press se- He said the authors have
ries last year, drawing on discussed their findings with
leaked documents shared Facebook and some of the
by a Facebook whistle- accounts have been taken
blower, showed how the down. He said the authors
platform repeatedly failed also plan to share the find-
to act on sensitive content ings with Kenya's govern-
including hate speech in ment.
many places around the Ayad said both civil society
world. A customer uses the Wi-Fi on her mobile phone at an internet cafe in the low-income Kibera and government bodies
The new and unrelated neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 29, 2021. such as Kenya's national
two-year study by the Insti- Associated Press counterterrorism center
tute for Strategic Dialogue should be aware of the
found Facebook posts that of the East African nation's attacks, but its authors and lic profiles, some with du- problem and encourage
openly supported IS or the population. Kenyan experts warn that plicate accounts, sharing Facebook to do more.
Somalia-based al-Shabab The report notes that "xe- allowing even general calls content linked to the two Asked for comment, Face-
— even ones carrying al- nophobia toward Somali to violence is a threat to extremist groups and tag- book requested a copy of
Shabab branding and call- communities in Kenya has the closely contested Au- ging more than 17,000 oth- the report before its publi-
ing for violence in languag- long been rife." gust presidential election. er accounts. Among the cation, which was refused.
es including Swahili, Somali The al-Qaida-linked al- Already, concerns about narratives shared were ac- The company then re-
and Arabic — were al- Shabab has been de- hate speech around the cusations that Kenya and sponded with an emailed
lowed to be widely shared. scribed as the deadliest ex- vote, both online and off, the United States are en- statement.
The report expresses par- tremist group in Africa, and are growing. emies of Islam, and among "We've already removed a
ticular concern with narra- it has carried out high-pro- "They chip away at that the posted content was number of these pages and
tives linked to the extremist file attacks in recent years trust in democratic institu- praise by al-Shabab's offi- profiles and will continue to
groups that accuse Ke- in Kenya far from its base in tions," report researcher cial media arm for the kill- investigate once we have
nyan government officials neighboring Somalia. Moustafa Ayad told the AP ing of Kenyan soldiers. access to the full findings,"
and politicians of being The new study found no of the extremist posts. Even when Facebook took Facebook wrote Tuesday,
enemies of Muslims, who evidence of Facebook The Institute for Strategic down pages, they would not giving any name, citing
make up a significant part posts that planned specific Dialogue found 445 pub- quickly be reconstituted security concerns. q

Brazil court approves home grown cannabis for medical use

By DEBORA ALVARES doing it at the risk of arrest. request for comment from
Associated Press Judge Rogério Schietti said The Associated Press.
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — A the top court's panel acted President Jair Bolsonaro, a
top court in Brazil on Tues- because the government far-right politician facing a
day authorized three pa- had failed to take a scien- tough battle to get reelect-
tients to grow cannabis for tific position on the issue. ed in October, said in June
medical treatment, a deci- "The discourse against this 2021 that he disagreed with
sion that is likely to be ap- possibility is moralistic. It of- any authorization for Brazil-
plied nationwide in similar ten has a religious nature, ians to grow marijuana at
cases. based on dogmas, on false home, no matter their aim.
A five-judge panel of the truths, stigmas," Schietti Former President Luiz Iná-
country's Superior Court said. "Let us stop this preju- cio Lula da Silva, the main
of Justice unanimously dice, this moralism that de- leader of the leftist Workers'
agreed that the three pa- lays the development of Party, leads all opinion polls
tients can grow cannabis this issue at the legislative, to return to the job he held
and extract its oil for use in and many times clouds the in 2003-2010. Demonstrators hold a banner that reads in Portuguese: "Medical
pain relief. Brazilian law cur- minds of Brazilian judges." Uruguay is the only South Cannabis Now," during a legalization of marijuana march in Sao
rently limits the medical use Judge Antonio Saldanha American country where Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, June 11, 2022.
of marijuana-derived prod- said that "there is a delib- the use of marijuana is le- Associated Press
ucts to imported goods. erately backward action gal even for recreational
Brazil's health ministry is yet toward obscurantism" in use. Argentina's approved a regulatory agency to The Brazilian court's deci-
to regulate home cultiva- Brazil's government's delay. on May 27 a law to regu- control how patients ob- sion follows protests in Brazil
tion of cannabis for medi- The country's health min- larize the medical use of tain seeds and marijuana in favor of medical canna-
cal use, which puts anyone istry did not respond to a cannabis and established derived products. bis on June 11.q