[ti:Facebook Investigation Finds ‘Serious Setbacks’ for Civil Rights] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]An audit on Facebook's civil rights record has found "serious setbacks" [00:06.84]in its efforts to deal with issues such as hate speech and misinformation. [00:13.96]The social media company ordered the investigation two years ago [00:18.60]to measure Facebook's performance on major social issues. [00:24.44]The findings were released on Wednesday. [00:29.64]The auditors reported that Facebook had taken "important steps forward [00:34.96]in building a long-term civil rights accountability structure." [00:41.64]But they said the steps do not go far enough [00:45.20]"and should not be the end of Facebook's progress." [00:50.76]The report says Facebook's progress could be obscured by the "painful decisions" [00:57.32]the company has made that "represent significant setbacks for civil rights." [01:04.56]The audit suggests that Facebook attempt [01:07.84]to build a "civil rights infrastructure" into every part of the company. [01:14.84]The auditors expressed concern at how the company chose [01:19.20]to deal with some Facebook posts by politicians, [01:23.16]including U.S. President Donald Trump. [01:28.44]One of his messages was widely criticized [01:31.72]for giving false information about the process of voting by mail. [01:38.08]In another post – appearing on both Facebook and Twitter [01:42.52]– Trump used the words: "Any difficulty and we will assume control [01:47.68]but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts." [01:52.04]The second message was posted in May during protests [01:56.44]after the death of 46-year-old George Floyd. [02:01.92]Some of the demonstrations turned violent. [02:06.36]Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer [02:10.40]held his leg on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes. [02:16.32]Twitter acted on both posts by Trump, [02:19.76]saying they had violated its policies. [02:24.16]In the first case, Twitter warned users that the claims about voting by mail [02:30.24]had been judged to be false by investigators. [02:34.92]In the second, Twitter hid Trump's message, [02:38.24]saying it violated its policy against "glorifying violence." [02:45.72]Facebook did not take action against either post. [02:51.20]Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg defended the company's decision, [02:56.04]saying it represented a commitment to free speech. [03:01.44]Facebook's position was that the Trump messages [03:04.72]"did not violate its community standards," the report said. [03:10.24]But the auditors said they strongly disagreed, [03:13.88]claiming the messages "clearly violated Facebook's policies." [03:20.60]The report said Facebook's unwillingness to act seemed "to reflect [03:25.84]a statement of values that protecting free expression [03:29.84]is more important than other stated company values." [03:35.72]Facebook's Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, [03:39.76]described the audit as a "really important process for our company." [03:45.96]She said in a statement the auditors had "looked [03:49.00]at a wide range of civil rights issues, [03:52.20]including our policies against hate." [03:56.76]"We have made real progress over the years, [03:59.84]but this work is never finished," Sandberg said. [04:04.72]"There are no quick fixes to these issues - nor should there be... [04:09.56]What has become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go." [04:15.92]The findings were announced at a time when hundreds of advertisers [04:21.16]have joined a boycott of Facebook to pressure the company [04:25.16]to do more to remove hate speech. [04:29.72]On Tuesday, organizers of the boycott [04:32.96]held a video conference with Zuckerberg and Sandberg. [04:38.48]After the meeting, activists said [04:41.44]they saw "no commitment to action" from the company. [04:46.96]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM