COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 03/07/2019
Mathew Ingram
Anyone who has been paying attention over the past year is probably well aware that Facebook has a problem with misinformation. But a number of recent events have highlighted an issue that could be even more problematic for the company and its users: namely, harassment and various forms of abusive conduct in private groups. In the latest incident, ProPublica reported on Monday that members of a Facebook group frequented by current and former Customs and Border Patrol agents joked about the deaths of migrants, talked about throwing burritos at members of Congress who were visiting a detention facility in Texas, and posted a drawing of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez engaged in oral sex with a migrant. According to ProPublica, the group is called “I’m 10-15,” which is the code that CBP agents use when they have illegal migrants in custody, and has 9,500 members.