This week the Washington Post published a powerful story about the ways that Facebook has allowed authoritarian activists – including those sanctioned by the United States government – to use its platform to push disinformation propaganda, recruit fighters and raise money in support of Russia’s Illegal invasion of Ukraine.
That story wouldn’t have been possible without the disclosures made by Whistleblower Aid client Joohn Choe, a Facebook contractor who was hired to research extremism on the platform and who was shocked by what he saw and the company’s insufficient response.
In addition to the presence of sanctioned individuals on the platform, his disclosures ring the alarm about authoritarian regimes like the Belarusian government using Facebook to identify, hunt and arrest critics of the government.
You can read Choe’s disclosures here:
- February 25 filing focused on Ukraine and pro-Russian use of Facebook
- December 3rd filing focused on Belarusian use of Facebook and Instagram
As Whistleblower Aid founder and chief disclosure officer John Tye pointed out:
“This isn’t just morally wrong, it’s illegal. This isn’t even a close call. We call on the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Department of Justice to bring an enforcement action against Facebook immediately. Frankly, it shouldn’t take a whistleblower for Facebook to take responsibility and stop allowing its platform to be used to support war crimes. This only underscores that despite all its promises, Facebook is utterly failing at its responsibilities to ensure its platforms comply with U.S. law. It’s a disgrace, and it’s long past time for Facebook leadership to acknowledge that.”
