Fear About Protests Spreads Faster Than Peace on Facebook

The protests following George Floyd's death at the hands of police has .

It's finding supporters even in unlikely places such as Vidor, Texas, which Texas Monthly once named the state’s “most hate-filled town.” 

Tech companies have released statements backing the movement.

But while there is earned criticism of how those messages don't translate into action within organizations, the hypocrisy seems most galling to the employees at Facebook who have quit over the company's fueling of hate and even violence against the protestors. 

Now, a Media Matters study shows how instrumental Facebook is in spreading false information and encouraging police to assault protestors.

Facebook is built and operated on engagement.

So although posts from right-leaning pages made up only 26 percent of the posts about protests, they received nearly 40 percent of engagement. 

The protests and protestors have been largely peaceful, but the alt-right is invested in establishing a narrative about looting—one that is not truthful.

And the most-shared posts reflected that.

Meanwhile, the state-sponsored violence that some Facebook users want to spur against protestors is already in full effect, as seen in peacefully exercising their Constitutional right to protest attests. 

Another popular focus of the right-leaning posts is President Donald Trump’s treatment of the protesters, including the use of tear gas and flash grenades against a calm crowd for a photo-op in front of a church. 

The left-leaning posts Media Matters looked at received only about 33.5 million interactions on over 7,400 posts.

Those posts didn’t present a solid block of one opinion like the right-leaning ones did, but rather a variety of stories and points of view. 

Social media has been radicalizing the alt-right for years, but Facebook has notably been the most unopposed to the use of its platform in such a way.

Mark Zuckerberg has made the site a de facto right-leaning one by defending his decision to leave up Trump’s call to shoot looters, meeting only with leaders on the right to discuss free speech, and refusing to adopt policies that other social media companies have with regard to false political advertising in the upcoming election. 

Facebook’s refusal to separate itself from factions that seek to harm fellow citizens is damaging to the country, Facebook itself, and the legacy Zuckerberg seemed to once want when he formed the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. 

The protests following George Floyd's death at the hands of police has .

It's finding supporters even in unlikely places such as Vidor, Texas, which Texas Monthly once named the state’s “most hate-filled town.” 

Tech companies have released statements backing the movement.

But while there is earned criticism of how those messages don't translate into action within organizations, the hypocrisy seems most galling to the employees at Facebook who have quit over the company's fueling of hate and even violence against the protestors. 

Now, a Media Matters study shows how instrumental Facebook is in spreading false information and encouraging police to assault protestors.

Facebook is built and operated on engagement.

So although posts from right-leaning pages made up only 26 percent of the posts about protests, they received nearly 40 percent of engagement. 

The protests and protestors have been largely peaceful, but the alt-right is invested in establishing a narrative about looting—one that is not truthful.

And the most-shared posts reflected that.

Meanwhile, the state-sponsored violence that some Facebook users want to spur against protestors is already in full effect, as seen in peacefully exercising their Constitutional right to protest attests. 

Another popular focus of the right-leaning posts is President Donald Trump’s treatment of the protesters, including the use of tear gas and flash grenades against a calm crowd for a photo-op in front of a church. 

The left-leaning posts Media Matters looked at received only about 33.5 million interactions on over 7,400 posts.

Those posts didn’t present a solid block of one opinion like the right-leaning ones did, but rather a variety of stories and points of view. 

Social media has been radicalizing the alt-right for years, but Facebook has notably been the most unopposed to the use of its platform in such a way.

Mark Zuckerberg has made the site a de facto right-leaning one by defending his decision to leave up Trump’s call to shoot looters, meeting only with leaders on the right to discuss free speech, and refusing to adopt policies that other social media companies have with regard to false political advertising in the upcoming election. 

Facebook’s refusal to separate itself from factions that seek to harm fellow citizens is damaging to the country, Facebook itself, and the legacy Zuckerberg seemed to once want when he formed the philanthropic Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.