Call for legislation overhaul as sectarian hate ads 'approved by Facebook'

A SERIES of sectarian, hate advertisements were approved by Facebook shortly before rioting in Northern Ireland, it has been claimed.The ads, including one showing a burnt out car that read ‘Voting hasn’t worked, take to the streets’, were withdrawn before they ever appeared on the social media giant’s platform.The issue has been highlighted by Global Witness, an international human rights organisation, which is calling for legislation to regulate the ‘Big Tech’ companies.The group said it had submitted the ads, containing “sectarian slurs that potentially encouraged violent protests”, for approval to Facebook.A Global Witness spokesperson added: “None of the content was actually made public as we withdrew it once we had confirmed that it had been approved by the social media giant. We specified that these ads would be targeted at people that Facebook has profiled as having an interest in either Catholicism or Protestantism.”In addition, we were able to demonstrate how this content could be narrowly targeted by postcode, specifically at those living either side of the main peace wall in west Belfast, on the predominantly Catholic Falls Road side or the mostly Protestant Shankill Road side – where violence and rioting has recently taken place.”Every single advert tested by…
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