Meta is accused of allowing Facebook posts that exacerbated the conflict in Ethiopia.

Reuters Meta Platforms is being sued in a class-action lawsuit in Kenya on Wednesday for allowing violent and hate-filled posts on Facebook to fuel the civil war in Ethiopia.

The lawsuit, filed by two Ethiopian researchers and the Kenya-based human rights group Katiba Institute, alleges that Facebook's recommendation systems amplified violent posts in Ethiopia, including several that preceded the murder of the father of one of the plaintiffs.

"Facebook not only allows this content to be on the platform, but also prioritizes it and makes money from it. Why can they do that?" questioned Mercy Mutemi, the lawyer representing the two Ethiopian researchers, at a press conference in Nairobi.

The lawsuit also alleges that Meta failed to exercise reasonable care in training its algorithms to identify dangerous posts and in hiring staff to verify the content of the languages ​​covered by its regional moderation center in Nairobi.

Meta spokesperson Erin McPike said that hate speech and incitement to violence are against Facebook and Instagram's rules. "We've invested heavily in teams and technology to help us find and remove this content," McPike said.

Meta's independent Supervisory Board recommended last year a review of how Facebook and Instagram have been used to spread content that increases the risk of violence in Ethiopia.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order the company to take emergency measures to remove violent content, increase the moderation team in Nairobi, and create restitution funds of approximately $2 billion for global victims of violence incited on Facebook.

The father of Abraham Meareg, one of the Ethiopian researchers, faced ethnic slurs and death threats in Facebook posts in October 2021 that revealed where he lived, according to the lawsuit.

Abraham claims he reported the content to Facebook, but the company was unable to remove it immediately or, in some cases, did not remove it at all.

Abraham's father was murdered on November 3, 2021, according to the lawsuit. Abraham told Reuters that he considers Meta "directly responsible" for his father's death.

The case echoes accusations Meta has faced regarding content on its platforms related to violence elsewhere, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Cambodia. The company acknowledged being "too slow" to act in Myanmar.

Thousands have died and millions have been displaced in the Ethiopian conflict that erupted in 2020 between the federal government and rebel forces in the northern region of Tigray. The two sides agreed in November to a permanent cessation of hostilities.

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