The murder of Tigrayan Chemistry professor in Amhara regional state led to $2bn lawsuit against Meta / Facebook
Posted: 20 Dec 2022, 10:57
Analysis: How killing of Ethiopian professor unfolded, led to $2bn lawsuit against Meta
DECEMBER 20, 2022
Professor Meareg Amare Abraha
Addis Abeba – Meareg Amare Abreha, 60, a father of four children, and a full-time Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Bahir Dar University, was shot dead in front of his residence around midday on 02 November 2021 in Bahir Dar, the capital of Ethiopia’s Amhara regional state; he was left on the scene for hours before the perpetrators allowed the city municipal service to pick his body.
The professor’s murder came after two Facebook posts of defamation and death threats from a page identified as “BDU STAFF” that had 50k followers at the time, his son, Abrham Meareg told Addis Standard magazine for a story of its November print publication.
Abrham is one of the plaintiffs in a new $2bn (£1.6bn) lawsuit filed against Facebook’s parent company, Meta, which was fielded last week at a High Court in Nairobi, Kenya. The case is supported by non-profit campaign group, Foxglove, which says there is a reasonable certainty that lack of prompt measure from Facebook has changed the fate of the life of professor Meareg.
“We firmly believe that had the posts been taken down immediately, or caught by a filter and taken down, the Professor would still be alive,” Rosa Curling, Director at the Foxglove, told Addis Standard.
According to the director, the posts that incited the murder of Prof. Meareg Amare Abrha stayed up for weeks after his son reported them – one of them stayed up for over a year and was still up as late as last week.
The lawsuit establishes the connection of algorithmic functions that favors fanning viral contents giving nonequivalent emphasis of care to avert their repercussions.
“Sadly, ‘engaging’ posts are often violent or shocking, because people react to them, share them, comment on them. All those reactions mean the Facebook algorithm promotes the post more, and can make hate posts and violence go viral, and spread even further. This is why we say that Facebook is deadly by design,” Rosa said.
Abrham, alongside other petitioners in the lawsuit, demands the court to order Facebook to halt promoting viral hate; start demoting violent incitement similar to the immediate steps it took after the US Capitol riots of 06 January 2021; as well as employ enough content moderators to address content moderation in a range of languages; apologize for the professor’s death, and create a restitution fund to be assessed by the court for victims of hate and violence incited on Facebook; petitioners demand a total of $2.4 billion for harm from posts, and sponsored posts.
But who was professor Meareg and how did his killing unfold?
Continue reading https://addisstandard.com/analysis-how- ... inst-meta/
https://addisstandard.com/analysis-how- ... inst-meta/
DECEMBER 20, 2022
Professor Meareg Amare Abraha
Addis Abeba – Meareg Amare Abreha, 60, a father of four children, and a full-time Professor of Analytical Chemistry at Bahir Dar University, was shot dead in front of his residence around midday on 02 November 2021 in Bahir Dar, the capital of Ethiopia’s Amhara regional state; he was left on the scene for hours before the perpetrators allowed the city municipal service to pick his body.
The professor’s murder came after two Facebook posts of defamation and death threats from a page identified as “BDU STAFF” that had 50k followers at the time, his son, Abrham Meareg told Addis Standard magazine for a story of its November print publication.
Abrham is one of the plaintiffs in a new $2bn (£1.6bn) lawsuit filed against Facebook’s parent company, Meta, which was fielded last week at a High Court in Nairobi, Kenya. The case is supported by non-profit campaign group, Foxglove, which says there is a reasonable certainty that lack of prompt measure from Facebook has changed the fate of the life of professor Meareg.
“We firmly believe that had the posts been taken down immediately, or caught by a filter and taken down, the Professor would still be alive,” Rosa Curling, Director at the Foxglove, told Addis Standard.
According to the director, the posts that incited the murder of Prof. Meareg Amare Abrha stayed up for weeks after his son reported them – one of them stayed up for over a year and was still up as late as last week.
The lawsuit establishes the connection of algorithmic functions that favors fanning viral contents giving nonequivalent emphasis of care to avert their repercussions.
“Sadly, ‘engaging’ posts are often violent or shocking, because people react to them, share them, comment on them. All those reactions mean the Facebook algorithm promotes the post more, and can make hate posts and violence go viral, and spread even further. This is why we say that Facebook is deadly by design,” Rosa said.
Abrham, alongside other petitioners in the lawsuit, demands the court to order Facebook to halt promoting viral hate; start demoting violent incitement similar to the immediate steps it took after the US Capitol riots of 06 January 2021; as well as employ enough content moderators to address content moderation in a range of languages; apologize for the professor’s death, and create a restitution fund to be assessed by the court for victims of hate and violence incited on Facebook; petitioners demand a total of $2.4 billion for harm from posts, and sponsored posts.
But who was professor Meareg and how did his killing unfold?
Continue reading https://addisstandard.com/analysis-how- ... inst-meta/
https://addisstandard.com/analysis-how- ... inst-meta/