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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
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