Hiding posts on Facebook commemorating the victims of the Auschwitz camp is a scandal and an illustration of the problems with automatic content moderation, wrote Krzysztof Gawkowski, the Minister of Digitization, on the X service. He has declared that the government will seek an explanation from the Meta Corporation, the owner of Facebook, regarding this situation.
The Auschwitz Museum in southern Poland announced on Friday that Facebook’s moderation system had removed some of the memorial center’s posts which allegedly contained “inappropriate content.” This includes harassment, hate speech, nudity, and incitement to violence.
The Auschwitz Museum referred to such behavior as an “algorithmic erasure of history.”
“We wish to express our deep concern regarding the recent action of @facebook simultaneously flagging 21 posts published by the Auschwitz Memorial.”
“The posts in question feature nothing but respectful remembrance and historical documentation, showcasing the faces and biographical information of those who suffered and were murdered in a place that symbolizes one of the darkest chapters of human history,” the post continued.
“Despite our immediate appeal and request for review, only a fraction of the flagged posts have been reinstated,” the museum wrote.
Representatives of the Museum also reported that the post from April 6, which commemorated the fate of Jewish children from the Izieu orphanage, was swiftly deleted without the option to appeal. They emphasized that Facebook’s assertion that such posts violate community standards is entirely misleading.
“The rationale provided by the Facebook system, claiming that these posts resemble content that violates Community Standards, is utterly confounding. For years, the Auschwitz Memorial has been sharing similar content without any issues, yet suddenly, 21 posts are simultaneously flagged. This raises serious doubts about the efficacy and accuracy of your content moderation technology.” “This terrible incident not only undermines the important work of our institution. Such an act is unacceptable and offensive to the memory of the victims of Auschwitz, which we strive to preserve. It hurts those who survived, [their] descendants, and all those who want to preserve historical truth. We demand an immediate and thorough review of this matter and a transparent explanation of why these posts were flagged at all,” declared the representatives of the Museum.
The Auschwitz Museum referred to such behavior as an “algorithmic erasure of history.”
“We wish to express our deep concern regarding the recent action of @facebook simultaneously flagging 21 posts published by the Auschwitz Memorial.”
The museum went on to say that it had been “met with unprecedented action at the hands of Facebook,” describing the justification for the posts’ removal as “absurd.”"Facebook's Algorithmic Erasure of History"
— Auschwitz Memorial (@AuschwitzMuseum) April 12, 2024
We wish to express our deep concern regarding the recent action of @facebook simultaneously flagging 21 posts published by the Auschwitz Memorial.
The posts, which serve as tributes to individual victims of Auschwitz, have been… pic.twitter.com/FG2qSZMsGX
“The posts in question feature nothing but respectful remembrance and historical documentation, showcasing the faces and biographical information of those who suffered and were murdered in a place that symbolizes one of the darkest chapters of human history,” the post continued.
“Despite our immediate appeal and request for review, only a fraction of the flagged posts have been reinstated,” the museum wrote.
Representatives of the Museum also reported that the post from April 6, which commemorated the fate of Jewish children from the Izieu orphanage, was swiftly deleted without the option to appeal. They emphasized that Facebook’s assertion that such posts violate community standards is entirely misleading.
“The rationale provided by the Facebook system, claiming that these posts resemble content that violates Community Standards, is utterly confounding. For years, the Auschwitz Memorial has been sharing similar content without any issues, yet suddenly, 21 posts are simultaneously flagged. This raises serious doubts about the efficacy and accuracy of your content moderation technology.” “This terrible incident not only undermines the important work of our institution. Such an act is unacceptable and offensive to the memory of the victims of Auschwitz, which we strive to preserve. It hurts those who survived, [their] descendants, and all those who want to preserve historical truth. We demand an immediate and thorough review of this matter and a transparent explanation of why these posts were flagged at all,” declared the representatives of the Museum.
More context-aware moderation
Gawkowski wrote on the X platform on Saturday that the posts’ removal was “a scandal and an illustration of the problems with automated content moderation.”
“We will demand information from [Facebook’s owner - PAP] @Meta on the causes of this situation,” the post continued.
“There should be more moderators, and those who work in the Polish market should know not only the language (which was not a problem here), but also the context. This is one of the reasons we are working so intensively on implementing the European DSA (Digital Services Act).”
Gawkowski wrote on the X platform on Saturday that the posts’ removal was “a scandal and an illustration of the problems with automated content moderation.”
“We will demand information from [Facebook’s owner - PAP] @Meta on the causes of this situation,” the post continued.
“There should be more moderators, and those who work in the Polish market should know not only the language (which was not a problem here), but also the context. This is one of the reasons we are working so intensively on implementing the European DSA (Digital Services Act).”
Source: PAP/Facebook
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