According to an investigation by Reveal, the media platform for the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, hundreds of US police officers are members of misogynistic, homophobic, racist, anti-Muslim, Confederate, or anti-government militia groups on Facebook. From a sheriff\u2019s deputy in Missouri posting anti-Muslim rants to a Georgia officer who shared Confederate memes, \u201c[h]undreds of active-duty and retired\u201d officers \u201cat every level of American law enforcement\u201d are members of hate groups on Facebook, Will Carless and Michael Corey reported.<\/p>\n
As Nick Statt wrote in an article published by\u00a0The Verge\u00a0in June 2019, \u201cThe unifying thread to all of these Facebook groups is that they are frequented and sometimes founded and operated by active and retired police officers, and that they actively recruit other police officers to join.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is so despite Facebook hate speech policies that ban content targeting individuals based on their race, ethnicity, or religion. Facebook also has rules against violent incitement by groups that have been known to organize and act offline.<\/p>\n
However, as Alex Kotch reported for Sludge in September 2019, Facebook profits from promoting hate groups\u2019 content. Based on a Sludge study of Facebook ad data, Kotch reported that, between May 2018 and September 2019, \u201cat least 38 hate groups and hate figures, or their political campaigns, paid Facebook nearly $1.6 million to run 4,921 sponsored ads.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Sludge report, nearly $960,000 of these ad revenues could be traced to anti-immigrant groups, $542,000 was spent by anti-LGBTQ groups, and anti-Muslim groups spent nearly $70,000 on ads.<\/p>\n
Corporate media coverage of US police involvement in hate groups has been limited. For example, an\u00a0article\u00a0<\/a>published by the\u00a0Washington Post<\/i>\u00a0in July 2019 addressed the topic but effectively defended Facebook by emphasizing the difficulties involved in monitoring so many private groups. Also in July 2019, NBC Philadelphia\u00a0reported\u00a0<\/a>that thirteen city police officers would be removed from the force due to violent, homophobic, or racist posts on their Facebook accounts. These thirteen individuals were determined to be the \u201cworst\u201d of the 328 officers being investigated, according to the NBC Philadelphia report.<\/p>\n Will Carless and Michael Corey, \u201cTo Protect and Slur,\u201d Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting), June 14, 2019, http:\/\/www.revealnews.org\/article\/inside-hate-groups-on-facebook-police-officers-trade-racist-memes-conspiracy-theories-and-islamophobia\/<\/a> [Part One of a three-part series].<\/p>\n Nick Statt, \u201cHundreds of Active and Former Police Officers are Part of Extremist Facebook Groups,\u201d The Verge, June 14, 2019, https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2019\/6\/14\/18679598\/facebook-hate-groups-law-enforcement-police-officers-racism-islamaphobia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alex Kotch, \u201cFacebook is Making Millions by Promoting Hate Groups\u2019 Content,\u201d\u00a0Sludge, September 25, 2019,\u00a0https:\/\/readsludge.com\/2019\/09\/25\/facebook-is-making-millions-by-promoting-hate-groups-content\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Student Researchers:<\/b>\u00a0Michelle Ann Stanton and Andrea Hernandez-Chavez (Sonoma State University)<\/p>\n Faculty Evaluator:<\/b>\u00a0Erica Tom (Sonoma State University)<\/p>\n The post #12. Police Officers Implicated in Online Hate Groups as Facebook Profits<\/a> appeared first on Project Censored<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
\n