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| Facebook will now ask you if your friend is a fanatic |
In the United States, Facebook is testing a new feature where users are asked if they are worried that someone they know is turning to extremism.
In addition, some users will be sent a warning message that they have seen extremist content.
Both features are being tested under Facebook's Redirect Initiative, which aims to combat extremism.
These messages automatically take the user to a page where they have the support to deal with it all.
A Facebook spokesman said: "These tests are part of a larger initiative to help and provide resources to people who have been exposed to extremist content or who know someone who Becoming an extremist.
He said his company was working on the project with NGOs and sector experts.
Is anyone becoming an extremist?
Pop-ups of these warning messages are being shared on social media.
One message read, "Are you worried that someone you know is becoming an extremist?"
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| Pop-ups warning messages are being shared on social media. |
Both of these messages take users to pages that help them fight extremism. Facebook says the test identifies users who have recently or in the past viewed content that violates the platform's rules.
The company told Reuters it would suspend or remove some content and accounts that were found to be in violation of its rules before users could view it, but some objectionable content was removed. It comes to people's attention first.
"Social media companies are now trying many ways to prevent misinformation on their platforms," says Jess Macbeth, an online safety consultant at the UK's Safer Internet Center.
"The interesting thing about this method is that it's based on the idea that we think we're not influenced by online content, but other people are," she says.
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