University of Michigan School of Information
Hemphill: White supremacy groups exploit loopholes on Facebook

Thursday, 08/11/2022
The Washington Post published evidence that despite Facebook’s long-time ban on white nationalism, the platform still hosts 119 Facebook pages and 20 Facebook groups associated with white supremacy organizations. Civic engagement expert Libby Hemphill said these groups have changed their approach to keep pages up.
“The people who are creating this content have become very tech savvy, so they are aware of the loopholes that exist and they’re using it to keep posting content,” said Hemphill, an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information. “Platforms are often just playing catch up."
The findings are from a report from the nonprofit tech watchdog group, Tech Transparency Project, which is part of the larger Campaign for Accountability group.
The Tech Transparency Project also found that more than 40% of searches for white supremacy organizations also presented users with an advertisement — meaning, Facebook continues to make money off hate groups’ pages.
RELATED:
Read “Facebook bans hate speech but still makes money from white supremacists,” on washingtonpost.com.
Learn more about UMSI associate professor and Anti-Defamation League Belfer Fellow Libby Hemphill.