Facebook closes pages and groups even if they don’t violate its standards

A new algorithm will remove pages and groups related to rule violation

Facebook is going to change the rules to the algorithm which removes pages and groups for standards violation. So, it will be hard for a removed page or group to be opened again with the same content.

In addition, Facebook will add a new tab called “Quality tab” in which there will be all the pages and groups violating the rules. Within that tab, there will be a motivation for the violation, such as hate speech, harassment, nudity and sex, bullying, the praise of people or events, etc…

This tab will also show which contents will be demoted if not removed, and what was found to be fake by independent fact-checking organizations. Facebook can rate this news as false, mixture or false headline.

Facebook says there’s an increase in people to duplicate the content from banned pages for using it in other pages. Now Facebook will remove not only these pages and groups but also all the ones which are somehow related to a violation. In short, if a page or group has something in common with a removed page or group, it will be banned.

The algorithm considers some parameters such as the same name of the page, the same administrator, etc…

Not only fake news

In the last few years, we find a lot of fake news on Facebook: some shared on purpose, others involuntarily. Memes and posts can condense and simplify a lot of information, so they are easier to read and spread without control. So, if a creator plays on the lower instincts is easy to cause scorn and make people share their contents. For someone this is done for money and for others it’s a way to convey opinions. Most people tend to believe in this kind of news because they don’t deepen topics.

Other problems are pages and groups that show violent content not always associated with fake news, but very often they are a consequence. Other cases are just an expression of hate, bullying, terrorism, etc…

Considerations

So, is Facebook doing the right thing? It depends. As long as Facebook was limited to report fake news it was helpful. Also because they weren’t censured but only down-rated. Closing pages or groups, only because they look somehow related to other violating Facebook’s community standards, it looks too drastic. Who can tell if a page with the same name or administrator has something to do with other banned ones?

If we could be doubtful on the reliability of independent third-party fact-checking services regarding fake news. Now, it seems there will be no escape. This algorithm will not be able to apply to all cases. So, will we have a huge quantity of removed pages and groups which are blameless? We’ll see!