Facebook has enabled hate speech to propagate faster and more virulently than ever before, allowing the voices of only a few to instantly reach disproportionate audiences.
While the issues surrounding censorship and free speech remain a difficult topic, online statements which express hatred or encourage violence keep proliferating.
One of the most striking examples is the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, where social media has played a “determining role” (if not the most damaging one) in spreading hate speech towards the victims of a 21st century genocide—“a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” according to a U.N. official.
The building of a global community has also proved to be the one of the most destructive aspects of social media. Commercial platforms like Facebook have attempted to present themselves as a safer place for those who already suffer from violence and discrimination—yet for many, it turned out to be quite the opposite.