Facebook sees rise in bullying and violent content after Meta eases rules to appease Trump
A shift in Meta's moderation strategy is drawing concern, as new data shows a spike in harmful content following the company's rollback of stricter enforcement policies. In its first Integrity Report since the January policy overhaul, the company disclosed a rise in violent content and online harassment across Facebook, even as overall content removals and enforcement actions have declined sharply. The report marks the first formal assessment of how CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to scale back proactive moderation is playing out on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads.advertisementThe findings raise concerns over the potential trade-offs of Meta's new direction, which aims to reduce enforcement errors and allow more political expression, but appears to be resulting in a visible increase in harmful content. Increase in harmful contentAccording to Meta, violent and graphic content on Facebook rose from 0.06–0.07 per cent in late 2024 to 0.09 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. While these percentages may seem minor, they represent a significant volume of material on a platform with billions of active users.
Similarly, the rate of bullying and harassment increased over the same period, with Meta attributing the rise to a spike in violations in March. "There was a small increase in the prevalence of bullying and harassment content from 0.06-0.07 per cent to 0.07-0.08 per cent on Facebook due to a spike in sharing of violating content in March" according to the report. These numbers signal a reversal of previously declining trends, raising questions about the effectiveness of Meta's current enforcement strategy.advertisementThe rise in harmful content coincides with a marked decrease in the number of posts removed from the platform. In Q1 2025, 3.4 million pieces of content were actioned under Meta's hate speech policy — the lowest figure since 2018. Spam removals also dropped significantly, from 730 million at the end of 2024 to 366 million in early 2025. The number of fake accounts taken down on Facebook fell from 1.4 billion to 1 billion. Meta does not currently share similar data for Instagram.These declines follow Meta's decision to move away from broad proactive enforcement, instead focusing only on the most serious violations such as child exploitation and terrorism-related content. Many topics that were previously moderated, including posts related to immigration, gender identity, and race, are now considered areas of political discourse and no longer subject to strict content rules.Meta has also revised its definition of hate speech, narrowing its scope to cover only direct attacks and dehumanising language. Statements previously flagged for expressing contempt, exclusion, or inferiority are now permitted under the updated policy.Fact-checking overhaulAnother key change introduced by Meta in early 2025 was the elimination of its third-party fact-checking partnerships in the United States. In their place, the company has rolled out a crowd-sourced fact-checking system known as Community Notes across Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and more recently, Reels and Threads replies.advertisementWhile Meta has not yet released data on how frequently these notes are used or how effective they have been, the company says further updates will be provided in future reports. Some experts have raised concerns about the potential for bias or manipulation in a system that relies heavily on user-generated input without established editorial oversight.Despite the rise in certain types of harmful content, Meta is positioning the new moderation approach as a success, particularly in reducing enforcement errors. According to the company, moderation mistakes dropped by approximately 50 per cent in the United States between the last quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.Meta has not detailed how it calculates this figure, but says future reports will include metrics specifically tracking error rates to improve transparency. The company noted that it is working to 'strike the right balance' between under-enforcement and overreach.Teen safety: A priorityOne area where Meta has chosen to retain proactive moderation is in content shown to teens. The company confirmed that protections against bullying and other harmful content will remain in place for younger users. Teen Accounts are being introduced across its platforms to better filter inappropriate material for this demographic.Meta also highlighted how artificial intelligence — particularly large language models (LLMs) — is playing a growing role in content moderation. The company reports that these tools are now exceeding human performance in some areas and are being used to automatically remove content from review queues when the model is confident a policy violation has not occurred.
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Time of India
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- Time of India
This is the first ever picture clicked on a cell-phone!
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Scroll.in
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Aristotle would scoff at Mark Zuckerberg's suggestion that AI can solve the loneliness epidemic
Mark Zuckerberg recently suggested that AI chatbots could combat social isolation by serving as 'friends' for people experiencing loneliness. He cited statistics that the average American has fewer than three friends but yearns for as many as 15. He was close: According to a 2021 report from the Survey Center on American Life, about half of Americans have fewer than four close friends. Zuckerberg then posited that AI could help bridge this gap by providing constant, personalized interactions. 'I would guess that over time we will find the vocabulary as a society to be able to articulate why that is valuable,' he added. Zuckerberg explaining how Meta is creating personalized AI friends to supplement your real ones: 'The average American has 3 friends, but has demand for 15.' — Roman Helmet Guy (@romanhelmetguy) April 30, 2025 Loneliness and social disconnection are serious problems. But can AI really be a solution? Might relying on AI for emotional support create a false sense of connection and possibly exacerbate feelings of isolation? And while AI can simulate certain aspects of companionship, doesn't it lack the depth, empathy and mutual understanding inherent to human friendship? Researchers have started exploring these questions. But as a moral philosopher, I think it's worth turning to a different source: the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Though it might seem odd to consult someone who lived over 2,000 years ago on questions of modern technology, Aristotle offers enduring insights about friendships – and which ones are particularly valuable. More important than spouses, kids or money In his philosophical text Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle maintained that true friendship is essential for 'eudaimonia,' a Greek word that is typically translated as 'flourishing' or 'well-being.' For Aristotle, friends are not just nice to have – they're a central component of ethical living and essential for human happiness and fulfillment. 'Without friends, no one would choose to live,' he writes, 'though he had all other goods.' A solitary existence, even one of contemplation and intellectual achievement, is less complete than a life with friends. Friendship contributes to happiness by providing emotional support and solidarity. It is through friendship that individuals can cultivate their virtues, feel a sense of security and share their accomplishments. Empirical evidence seems to support the connection between friendship and eudaimonia. A 2023 Pew Center research report found that 61 per cent of adults in the US say having close friends is essential to living a fulfilling life – a higher proportion than those who cited marriage, children or money. A British study of 6,500 adults found that those who had regular interactions with a wide circle of friends were more likely to have better mental health and be happier. And a meta-analysis of nearly 150 studies found that a lack of close friends can increase the risk of death as much as smoking, drinking or obesity. Different friends for different needs But the benefit of friendship that Aristotle focuses on the most is the role that it plays in the development of virtue. The first tier is what he calls 'friendships of utility,' or a friendship that is based on mutual benefit. Each party is primarily concerned with what they can gain from the other. These might be colleagues at work or neighbours who look after each other's pets when one of them is on vacation. The problem with these friendships is that they are often fleeting and dissolve once one person stops benefiting from the relationship. The second is 'friendships of pleasure,' which are friendships based on shared interests. These friendships can also be transient, depending on how long the shared interests last. Passionate love affairs, people belonging to the same book club and fishing buddies all fall into this category. This type of friendship is important, since you tend to enjoy your passions more when you can share them with another person. But this is still not the highest form of friendship. According to Aristotle, the third and strongest form of friendship is a 'virtuous friendship.' This is based on mutual respect for each other's virtues and character. Two people with this form of friendship value each other for who they truly are and share a deep commitment to the well-being and moral development of one another. These friendships are stable and enduring. In a virtuous friendship, each individual helps the other become better versions of themselves through encouragement, moral guidance and support. As Aristotle writes: 'Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good and alike in virtue. … Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends; for they do this by reason of their own nature and not incidentally; therefore their friendship lasts as long as they are good – and goodness is an enduring thing.' In other words, friendships rooted in virtue not only bring happiness and fulfilment but also facilitate personal growth and moral development. And it happens naturally within the context of the relationship. According to Aristotle, a virtuous friend provides a mirror in which one can reflect upon their own actions, thoughts and decisions. When one friend demonstrates honesty, generosity or compassion, the other can learn from these actions and be inspired to cultivate these virtues in themselves. No nourishment for the soul So, what does this mean for AI friends? By Aristotle's standards, AI chatbots – however sophisticated – cannot be true friends. They may be able to provide information that helps you at work, or engage in lighthearted conversation about your various interests. But they fundamentally lack qualities that define a virtuous friendship. AI is incapable of mutual concern or genuine reciprocity. While it can be programmed to simulate empathy or encouragement, it does not truly care about the individual – nor does it ask anything of its human users. Moreover, AI cannot engage in the shared pursuit of the good life. Aristotle's notion of friendship involves a shared journey on the path to eudaimonia, during which each person helps another live wisely and well. This requires the kind of moral development that only human beings, who face real ethical challenges and make real decisions, can undergo. I think it is best to think of AI as a tool. Just like having a good shovel or rake can improve your quality of life, having the rake and the shovel do not mean you no longer need any friends – nor do they replace the friends whose shovels and rakes you used to borrow. While AI may offer companionship in a limited and functional sense, it cannot meet the Aristotelian criteria for virtuous friendship. It may fill a temporary social void, but it cannot nourish the soul. If anything, the rise of AI companions should serve as a reminder of the urgent need to foster real friendships in an increasingly disconnected world.
Time of India
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LinkedIn lays off hundreds as tech giants continue to cut jobs
Microsoft-owned jobs and networking platform LinkedIn has joined the growing list of tech giants laying off employees, cutting 281 positions across California. According to a recent filing with the state's employment department, the company confirmed the layoffs, with software engineers being the most affected. Other impacted roles include senior product managers and talent account directors. This development comes just weeks after Microsoft announced it would eliminate 3% of its global workforce, around 6,000 jobs. In October 2023, LinkedIn laid off 668 employees across its engineering, talent, and finance teams. Earlier that year, in May, the company cut 716 jobs across its sales, operations, and support teams as part of efforts to streamline operations and reduce organizational layers to enable faster decision-making. Big tech continues to cut jobs In its latest round of job cuts, Google laid off 200 employees in May from its global business unit, responsible for sales and partnerships. The search major told Reuters that it was making small changes across the teams to drive collaboration and better serve its customers. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta had announced reformed performance assessment in January earlier this year, leading to job cuts in February that saw 3,600 employees, or 5% of the workforce, laid off. Staff working on Facebook, Horizon virtual reality (VR) platform and logistics were hit the hardest. Apple laid off 100 employees from its digital services arm in August 2024, with the team working for Apple Books and Apple Bookstore being hit the hardest. Some engineers and staff working on Apple News were also impacted.
