Anti-Myanmar hate speech flares in Thailand over virus

Anti-Myanmar hate speech flares in Thailand over virus

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After Reuters flagged some posts, Facebook said it had removed several for violating hate speech policies.

"We know that hate speech targeted towards vulnerable communities can be the most harmful,“ a Facebook spokesperson said, saying its technology detected 95% of hate speech.

Facebook came under heavy criticism for the role it played in spreading hate speech that fuelled violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar in 2017 and has since invested in systems that can rapidly detect and remove such content.

Twitter said it was looking into the issue. YouTube did not respond to requests for comment.

Not all the social media traffic has been negative, with some Thais defending the Myanmar workers.

A general view of the Ayeyarwady Center B facility where COVID-19 patients and asymptomatic cases are quarantined in Yangon, Myanmar. Reuters

Government spokespeople in Thailand and Myanmar did not respond immediately to requests for comment on hate speech.

REALLY SAD

The outbreak was first detected last week at a shrimp market at Samut Sakhon, barely 35 km (20 miles) from central Bangkok. Since then nearly 1,300 infections linked to the market have been found while thousands of people have been quarantined.

"We feel really sad that