Facebook will now redirect you if you search for extremist content in Pakistan or UK

Meta runs “The Redirect Initiative” in several countries where it redirects Facebook users to resources and support for leaving extremist ideologies if they search for content associated with organized violence and hate on its platform. The program is already active in Australia, USA, Germany, and Indonesia. It is now being expanded to Pakistan and the UK too.

The Redirect Initiative falls under Meta’s Counterspeech program that aims to deter and disrupt the connection between Facebook users and violent content. For its expansion into Pakistan and the UK, Meta has partnered with Shaoor Foundation and Exit UK, respectively. Moving forward, if anyone searches for content potentially related to organized violence and hate, they will be redirected to support resources managed by the aforementioned non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about how to let go of such ideologies.

Syed Ali Hameed, Executive Director at Shaoor Foundation, had the following to say about the collaboration:

At Shaoor Foundation, we have worked for many years designing and implementing peace development programs in Pakistan. Building a society that is inclusive, respectful and peaceful and involves engaging the entire community, enabling people to speak up and providing a safe, accessible space to get support. We are pleased to partner with Meta on the Redirect Initiative to help us scale our efforts and reach more people in need in Pakistan.

Meta says that the usefulness of its Counterspeech efforts has been vetted by Moonshot CVE. Meta boasts that this is just one of the ways it counters the spread of hateful content on its platform. It also has a dedicated team of 350 specialists which use cutting-edge technology to proactively detect and remove problematic content.