Meta sued for $2bn over Ethiopia violence
Facebook’s algorithm helped fuel the viral spread of hate and violence during Ethiopia’s civil war, a legal case alleges.
Abrham Meareg, the son of an Ethiopian academic shot dead after being attacked in Facebook posts, is among those bringing the case against Meta.
They want a $2bn (£1.6bn) fund for victims of hate on Facebook and changes to the platform’s algorithm.
Meta said it invested heavily in moderation and tech to remove hate.
A representative said hate speech and incitement to violence were against the platform’s rules.
Our safety-and-integrity work in Ethiopia is guided by feedback from local civil society organisations and international institutions,” the representative said to BBC.
Famine-like conditions
The case, filed in Kenya’s High Court, is supported by campaign group Foxglove.
Meta has a content moderation hub in Kenyan capital Nairobi.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the conflict between the Ethiopian government and forces in the northern Tigray region, with 400,000 others living in famine-like conditions.
Last month, a surprise peace deal was agreed – but recently, there has been an upsurge in ethnically motivated killings between Amhara- and Oromo-speaking communities.
Last year Mr Meareg’s father became one the casualties of the country’s violence.
On 3 November 2021, Prof Meareg Amare Abrha was followed home from his university by armed men on motorbikes and shot at close range trying to enter the family home.
Threats from his attackers prevented witnesses coming to his aid as he lay bleeding, his son says. He died lying on the ground seven hours later.
Before the attack, Facebook posts slandered and revealed identifying information about him, his son says.
Despite repeated complaints using Facebook’s reporting tool, the platform “left these posts up until it was far too late”.
