Murray’s the right choice for Senate District 24

AS OTHERS SEE IT Facebook must do more to halt 21st-century genocide

I met Melissa Murray back in 2013 when we were both campaigning for seats on the Woonsocket City Council. We were fortunate enough to win that race and serve together for three years. Melissa was always a public servant in every sense of that title. I could see serving with her that she truly cared about helping people and bettering the community, unlike most politicians that put their own agenda and ideals before the people they represent.

Both Melissa and I championed many reforms in Woonsocket and both

In Myanmar, Facebook is more than a website. For many residents, it is the entire Internet. So when the nation’s military used the site as a conduit for a campaign against Muslims, there were no guardrails to stop the hatred from spreading – except the company itself. The grim reality on the ground in Myanmar, from which more than 700,000 members of the Rohingya minority have now fled, shows Facebook failed.

The horrifying tale of how a social media site turned into a tool for ethnic cleansing was reported by the New York Times last week. In a coordinated campaign, members of the military posed as pages for celebrities, understood the importance of being involved in the community. We were strong allies that fought hard for key investments in the city for our roads, schools, and parks while at the same time passing budgets that exited a budget commission, upgraded our bond rating to “A,” and have now lowered taxes three years in a row. She advocated strongly for working families, seniors, veterans, and children who often times don’t have the time or ability to fight for themselves.

I believe she will be a great state sen- from war veterans to beauty queens, to amplify tensions between Myanmar’s Buddhists and the Rohingya. The military, the postings suggested, was the only bulwark against terrorist attacks by murderous Islamists.

There are 18 million Internet users in Myanmar. The pages that Facebook removed after the Times tipped it off had 1.35 million followers. Pages the platform removed in August had 12 million followers.

Facebook did too little to confront this hatred for too long. The campaign began half a decade ago, but until recently, Facebook responded to reports of hate speech only as they arrived individually. In 2013, just three of Facebook’s content reviewers spoke Myanmar. Now, 60 do – and Facebook plans for more than 100 by the end of the ator down in Providence and be a strong voice for the people of Woonsocket and North Smithfield. I know that she will sponsor and vote for legislation that truly makes a difference in people’s lives and moves our state in a better direction. She is the only candidate with a proven record and needs no on the job training on how to get the job done. et’s go out and elect the first woman ever to District 24 and watch what she can do to make us all proud.

Garrett Mancieri Woonsocket

year. Facebook has also formed a team dedicated to Myanmar, commissioned a human rights impact assessment and pledged to improve artificial intelligence to identify rule violations as well as streamline the reporting process.

These are positive steps, but Facebook must do more to prevent the next 21st-century genocide. Myanmar is far from the only country where Facebook has the footprint of a colossus and where cultural tensions are primed for exploitation. Those who wish to mobilize the citizenry against a particular group no longer need to print a paper, or transmit over the radio, or even set up a website. The website is there already, and anyone can be a broadcaster.

To answer this reality, Facebook must proactively monitor its impact in the countries where it is most powerful.