Last summer Mark Zuckerberg announced he wants to get 1 billion people in "meaningful" groups. He said "it will start to strengthen our social fabric and bring the world closer together.” A News Feed algorithm change is also emphasizing groups content event more. But....
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The things that make groups appealing to users also makes them a target for bad actors. We looked at the ways that Facebook groups are exploited and found an alarming combination of spam, hacking, radicalization, hate speech, harassment planning, & black hat "marketing" services.
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One of the most common ways groups are exploited is by spammers who flood them with links as a way to generate traffic. Groups are also being hijacked by spammers who trick owners into add them as admins. Then they boot out the original admins and take over.pic.twitter.com/bpxdOTAveb
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There's a thriving online world of dubious FB group services. We paid to have 6,000 members added to groups. “I do even 500,000 members in single group easily,” said a man who sold members. You can also pay to spam links into groups, or to scrape the emails of group members.pic.twitter.com/vKQSxEWJTh
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Private or secret groups are also used to plan online harassment campaigns. The group Republic of Kekistan had 30k members and for months it planned raids on comments sections and harassed Muslims, poc, and trans people. Here's some sample content from the group.pic.twitter.com/tDhmn3ZAdZ
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Once you're in a conspiracy-oriented group, Facebook is likely to suggest you join others.
@noUpside was researching anti-vax groups and soon FB was suggesting she join groups about chemtrails, flat earth etc. Closer to the 2016 election it fed her Pizzagate groups.pic.twitter.com/RULBb5DZ6h
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Facebook says it now has a dedicated integrity team for groups that works across disciplines. It has also been rolling out new tools to help admins manage their groups and keep out bad actors. They argued that the bad stuff is a small fraction of group activity.pic.twitter.com/LoPvw2JCX2
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But this is a global problem. Groups are being weaponized to spread fake news in Myanmar and the Philippines. Spammers in Kosovo, Macedonia, and elsewhere are targeting groups. And with more than 1 billion people already in groups, can Facebook manage this at scale?pic.twitter.com/N0pJAn1LkE
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#IQuitFacebook today , deactivated my account. I can keep messenger if true family and friends can reach me if necessary.
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