View source for Ex-U.N. chief Annan tells Facebook to move faster on hate speech

By David Ingram<br><br>SAN FRANCISCO, May 3 (Reuters) - Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan told Facebook Inc on Thursday that it should consider establishing a special team to respond more quickly to threats of sectarian violence in countries such as Myanmar that are at high risk.<br><br>Facebook, the world's largest social network, is under pressure from authorities and rights groups in many countries for its role in spreading hate speech, false stories and government-sponsored propaganda.<br><br>Annan, appearing on stage before an audience of Facebook employees, was asked by Facebook Chief Product Officer Chris Cox if he had a recommendation for the company to help protect elections.<br><br>He responded that Facebook should look for [http://en.Wiktionary.org/wiki/societies societies] where people are likely to put out "poisonous messages," and then monitor the language there.<br><br>[http://burmaprivatetour.com burma private tours] Facebook could "organize sort of a rapid response force, rapid reaction group, who can be injected into a situation, when you see it developing, so that they can try to see what advice they can give the electoral commission or those involved," Annan said, according to a live broadcast of the event.<br><br>Facebook says it has more than 7,500 workers who review posts for compliance with its rule book.<br><br>It some countries, though, it acknowledges it is short-handed. It said last month that it needed more people to work on public policy in Myanmar.<br><br>U.N. human rights experts investigating a possible genocide in [http://Www.Google.de/search?q=Myanmar Myanmar] said in March that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech in the country. Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh since insurgent attacks sparked a security crackdown last August.<br><br>Annan headed a commission that last year recommended to the government of Myanmar, a majority Buddhist country, that it avoid excessive force in the crisis.<br><br>Since then, social media may have made the crisis worse, he told Facebook employees.<br><br>"If indeed that was the case, was there a point somewhere along the line when action could have been taken to disrupt the dissemination of the messages? These are issues that you may need to think through," Annan said.<br><br>Cox replied: "That's something we're taking very seriously."<br><br>(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)<br><br>Advertisement