Anyone who has been paying attention over the past year is probably well aware that Facebook has a problem with misinformation. But a number of recent events have highlighted an issue that could be even more problematic for the company and its users: namely, harassment and various forms of abusive conduct in private groups. In the latest incident, ProPublica reported on Monday that members of a Facebook group frequented by current and former Customs and Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, talked about throwing burritos at members of Congress who were visiting a detention facility in Texas, and posted a drawing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a migrant. According to ProPublica, the group is called “I’m 10-15,” which is the code that CBP agents use when they have illegal migrants in custody, and has 9,500 members.
It’s not clear whether the administrator of the Facebook group made any effort to restrict membership to actual or former Customs and Border Patrol agents, so it’s probably not fair to conclude that the views expressed in the group are indicative of how a majority of the CBP feels about immigrants. But that didn’t stop many commentators on Twitter and elsewhere—including members of congress—from expressing their concerns about whether attitudes at the agency need to be investigated. “It’s clear there is a pervasive culture of dehumanization of immigrants at CBP,” Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Twitter, while her fellow Democrat Ocasio-Cortez said, “This isn’t about
Read more here: https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/facebook-private-groups.php
