We don't remove content for being false: Facebook
San Francisco, Aug 10 : Even as the world painfully takes notes of dangers of fake news spread on social media platforms, Facebook has said that it does not remove content simply for being false.
While the social network platform has in place rules against hate speech and takes personal attacks seriously, false content does not face censorship on its platform, Monika Bickert, Facebook's Head of Global Policy Management said on Thursday while participating in "Hard Questions", a series that explores the most challenging issues Facebook confronts.
"We don't allow hate speech on Facebook because it creates an environment where people feel personally attacked, where they won't feel comfortable coming and sharing themselves," Bickert said.
"The one thing that we don't remove is where someone simply asserts something false," she said, adding that Facebook tries to counter the virality of such content or tries to promote or make visible other views.
"Even if it is a horrible assertion of falsity, whether it's about the Holocaust or any other world even, we don't remove content simply for being false," Bickert added.
The statement bears significance at a time when rumours on social media platforms have been linked to real world violence in several countries, including India.
Facebook, Bickert said, also considers local regulations while blocking content on the platform.
"And we also block the speech where countries have told us, 'this is illegal in our country', then we will remove that speech in that country alone," she said.
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3 Assam Congress MLAs join ruling BJP ahead of assembly polls
Guwahati (PTI): Three Congress MLAs – Kamalakhya De Purakayastha, Sashikanta Das and Basanta Das – on Thursday joined the ruling BJP in Assam, along with two others, ahead of the assembly polls.
All of them were inducted into the party by state BJP president Dilip Saikia in the presence of Union minister Pabitra Margherita at a function here.
The development comes close on the heels of former Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah joining the saffron party.
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Elections to the 126-member Assam assembly are likely to be held in April.
Purakayastha represents Karimganj (North), while Sashikanta and Basanta are sitting MLAs from the Raha and Mangaldoi (SC) constituencies, respectively.
The two others who joined the BJP are former Congress joint secretary Parsha Bob Kalita and former Trinamool Congress general secretary Kangkan Nath.
The three MLAs, reported to be close to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had openly supported the BJP for the past few years, with Sasikanta Das announcing his support to the ruling party's policies in 2021.
The Congress had suffered a jolt, with Borah joining the BJP on February 22, while two other MLAs Abdul Rashid Mondal and Sherman Ali Ahmed switching over to the Raijor Dal last month.
Both Mondal and Ahmed are three-time legislators from Goalpara (West) and Baghbar, respectively.
