Facebook apologises for role in 2018 anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka
In 2018, anti-Muslim riots erupted in Sri Lanka, resulting in at least three deaths and 20 injuries, with mosques and Muslim businesses burned. An investigation commissioned by Facebook found that hate speech and rumours spread on its platform may have led to the violence. Facebook apologised for the human rights impacts and said it had taken steps to better protect users, including hiring more Sinhala-speaking staff and reducing distribution of frequently reshared messages.
- Date it happened
- 2018-01-01
- Organisation involved
- Product, system or model
- Facebook platform
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