70% of top “civic” Facebook groups are toxic or violent, report finds
Found on Ars Technica on Monday, 08 February 2021
Of the top 100 most-active US civic groups, 70 percent "are considered non-recommendable for issues such as hate, misinfo, bullying, and harassment," the presentation said. "Our existing integrity systems aren't addressing these issues."
Although many Facebook groups are indeed small, relatively congenial, and beneficial to their users, both civil rights advocates and Facebook's own researchers have warned for years that the way groups are managed and recommended to users increases extremism and radicalization.
That was the business idea: bringing people with the same hate together.