Facebook Sees Increase in Users Promoting Violent Events
- Company says it’s working with officials to flag gatherings
- Terrorism, cyber experts helping find images calling for harm
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Facebook Inc. said an increasing number of users are posting fliers and images using violent or incendiary language to promote gatherings across the country over the next week, echoing warnings from law enforcement that there could be another attack similar to last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the social network is tracking “dozens” of fliers promoting events on Jan. 17, Jan. 18 and Jan. 20, the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. The company is removing the postings using image recognition technology, and many of the images calling for the gatherings in Washington and elsewhere have been flagged to Facebook by a group of partner organizations that track terrorism and cybercrime.