Meta sued for inciting leading to targeted killings in Tigray conflict

By Mitzi Trainor Last updated Dec 14, 2022

Since November 2020, there has been an ongoing conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. This conflict has caused an extreme humanitarian crisis, and is often referred to as a genocide. To understand the situation better, it’s important to look at the past of the region, how it affects the population there, and what can be done to assist.

The history of conflict in Tigray The conflict between Ethiopia and Tigray is a long-standing issue that has been intertwined with religion, culture, and politics. The most recent period of tension began in 1991, when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) declared independence from Ethiopia after overthrowing its military-ruled government. In response, Ethiopian forces invaded Tigray and imposed martial law on its citizens. The tensions that ensued culminated in an armed conflict between TPLF forces and Ethiopian troops in 1998. The conflict resulted in thousands of deaths as well as millions of refugees fleeing their homes.

Impact on People Living in Tigray
The ongoing violence has taken a massive toll on the population in Tigray. According to reports from international aid agencies, over 2 million people have been forced to flee by the fighting , while hundreds more have been killed or injured by air strikes or other types of violence. Additionally, reports indicate that many civilians were targeted for ethnic cleansing because of their religious beliefs or political beliefs. There are also widespread food shortages since crops haven’t been allowed to be planted or harvested due to the conflict.

Meta is being sued for almost £2bn over human rights abuses and killings in Ethiopia caused by hate speech on Facebook.

The petition, filed in the Kenyan courts on Tuesday, cites the Bureau and Observer’s reporting from February, which told the stories of Ethiopian civilians who say their family members were killed as a result of posts on Facebook.

The lead complainant in the case, Abrham Meareg, says that his father, a professor at Bahir Dar University in Amhara, Ethiopia, was murdered after two Facebook posts targeted him as a member of the Tigray ethnic group.

In October 2021 Abrham reported two posts that had named his father, Professor Meareg Amare Abreha. Both included his photo and one identified the neighbourhood in which he lived. The posts made false claims that he was corrupt and was helping the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, a paramilitary group that was at war with the Ethiopian government.

Neither post was taken down before November 3, when Professor Meareg was followed home from work by men wearing Amharan special forces uniforms. Amhara has sided with the national government in the conflict.

The men shot Professor Meareg twice, once in the shoulder and once in the leg, and then prevented his family from helping him while he died over the next seven hours.

Read the reporting behind the case

The Bureau has been communicating with Foxglove since our first story and put them in touch with Abrham Meareg, the lead complainant on the new legal case

Facebook accused by survivors of letting activists incite ethnic massacres with hate and misinformation in Ethiopia

Abrham and his family have been unable to return to their home in Bahir Dar and he has now fled to the US where he is claiming asylum. One of the posts he reported was taken down after his father was murdered. Another was still up earlier this month.

The Bureau first spoke to Abrham while reporting on how Facebook was allowing misinformation and hate speech relating to the conflict in Ethiopia to spread and remain on its platforms, causing harm. Although his account was not included in the piece, with Abrham’s permission the Bureau introduced him to Foxglove, the legal team who are now supporting his case.

The posts targeting Professor Meareg are just two of many that have spread hate and incited violence towards different ethnic groups in Ethiopia, which has seen many ethnically motivated killings during a brutal conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands. The petition alleges that Meta has repeatedly failed to take down posts calling for violence, including those promoting concentration camps and rape as a weapon of war.

The petition cites two instances from the Bureau’s reporting: the killing of Gebremichael Tewelmedhi and eleven others in the Amharan city of Gondar after posts called for the cleansing of Amhara territories; and the murder of Hadush Gebrekirstos who was heard speaking Tigrayan in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa at a time when there were numerous posts calling for the ethnic cleansing of Tigrayans.

The Bureau first covered Facebook’s failure to moderate hate speech and misinformation about the conflict in Ethiopia in February of this year

As the Bureau and the Observer have reported, Meta has been slow to help fact checkers and human rights activists tackle hate and misinformation in Ethiopia, despite having known of the dangers content on Facebook posed in the country since at least 2020.

The other claimant in the case is Fisseha Tekle, a lawyer working for Amnesty International in Kenya who claims to have been targeted on Facebook over his work on Ethiopia. Amnesty and Global Witness are among the interested parties named in the petition.

The petition aims to “hold Meta accountable for blatant human rights violations and human suffering caused by its business decisions”.

It further claims that “it is not accidental that Facebook users are in an ecosystem rife with inciteful, hateful and dangerous content. This ecosystem has been created by design.”

The petition is calling on Meta to:

set up two funds for victims of hateful content and those shown sponsored posts containing hate, amounting to almost £2bn,

alter its algorithms and moderation practices to stop the spread of “inciteful, hateful and dangerous content”,

take steps to ensure it does not do less to tackle hate speech and incitement to violence in Africa than it does elsewhere.

A spokesperson for Meta said: “We have strict rules which outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. Hate speech and incitement to violence are against these rules and we invest heavily in teams and technology to help us find and remove this content. Our safety and integrity work in Ethiopia is guided by feedback from local civil society organisations and international institutions.

“We employ staff with local knowledge and expertise, and continue to develop our capabilities to catch violating content in the most widely spoken languages in the country, including Amharic, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya.”

For further information about its work in Ethiopia, Meta directed the Bureau to a blog post about its work to “Protect People in Ethiopia” published in November 2021, six days after Professor Meareg’s murder.

How Can We Help? There are many ways to help those affected by this tragedy. The most effective way to help is through contributions to aid organizations like Doctors Without Borders who are providing medical treatment and food items to people affected by the conflict. Also, raising awareness of this issue is vital to ensure that governments across the world will engage in a legal process against those responsible for committing these human rights violations. In the end, we need to call on our elected officials to take meaningful steps to end this conflict once and for all by working diplomatically with leaders from both sides of the conflict.
Conclusion The ongoing tragedy that is taking place in Ethiopia’s Tigray region should not be ignored or forgotten about anytime soon. It is crucial to continue to raise awareness about this issue in order that we can put pressure on governments around the world to swiftly and decisively against those who are responsible for perpetuating this kind of violence against innocent civilians. Moreover, it is important to give whatever funds we can spare so that aid organizations are able to provide essential medical treatment and food supplies for the people affected by the current crisis. Only then will justice be served for all involved parties who are involved in this horrific human rights violation.

Curated reportage Meta sued for hate speech leading to targeted killings in Tigray conflict. In brief Meta sued for inciting leading to targeted murders in Ethiopia conflict.

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