TOPLINE
Facebook announced in June they had shut down accounts and pages it said were linked to the far-right, anti-government Boogaloo movement and would ban people and organizations associated with the group going forward, but a new report by Tech Transparency Project found that Facebook has consistently failed to detect Boogaloo activity, which has allowed the group to use the platform to grow.
Armed protesters demonstrate during the Michigan Conservative Coalition organized "Operation ... [+]
KEY FACTS
On June 30, Facebook said it had removed 220 Boogaloo accounts, 106 groups, dozens of pages, and 95 additional accounts on Instagram (which Facebook owns).
Facebook characterized the group as violent and designated Boogaloo as a dangerous organization, meaning it shares the same classification as terrorist activity, organized hate, and large-scale criminal organizations on the social network.
Consequently, Facebook said it would ban individuals and organizations linked to Boogaloo in the future, and remove content that praises, supports and represents the movement.
According to a report published Wednesday by Tech Transparency Project, a part of the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability, 110 Facebook boogaloo groups have been created since June 30—with at least 18 of the groups formed on the same day as Facebook's announcement.
The newly formed groups, some of which have more than 1,000 members, have "easily evaded Facebook's crackdown by rebranding themselves, often co-opting the names of children's movies, news organizations and even Mark Zuckerberg."
Facebook has reportedly sought to justify its selective approach to removing Boogaloo groups by arguing that some parts of the movement are not violent.
Key Background:
The Boogaloo movement is a far-right anti-government movement that began on extremist site 4chan and aims to start a second American civil war. In July, the Department of Homeland Security published a report obtained by The Nation, which begins by stating, “The Intelligence Community reports that Domestic Violent Extremists (DVEs) who support ‘Boogaloo’ could exploit the current political and social environments to conduct attacks in the United States.” In mid-June, an intelligence assessment from the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium warned that Washington D.C. is “likely a target for violent adherents of the boogaloo ideology." Facebook said the group promotes "violence against civilians, law enforcement, and government officials and institutions." Yet, Tech Transparency Project referred to Facebook's approach to removing Boogaloo content as "slow and sometimes piecemeal," which has enabled Boogaloo group administrators plenty of time to adjust their online strategies. Some groups allegedly began changing their names to replace the word "boogaloo" and known derivations like "big igloo," "boojahideen," and "big luau." TTP states that instruction manuals on bomb-making and other violent activity, such as kidnapping and murder, continue to circulate, and, despite Facebook's vow to stop recommending Boogaloo groups to users, the company's algorithms continue to suggest boogaloo-related groups and pages.
Big Number:
150: Tech Transparency Project found that 39 of 125 Boogaloo groups active in April are still active on Facebook. And TTP identified a total of nearly 150 boogaloo groups that were active as of July 24, which is roughly 20% more than had been identified in April.
Tangent:
In June, the FBI announced that Steven Carrillo, the U.S. Air Force sergeant who allegedly murdered law enforcement officers in California during social justice protests, was associated with the Boogaloo movement. Authorities stated that, before he was apprehended, Carrillo scrawled the word "boog" (short for Boogaloo) in blood on the hood of a car. According to the federal complaint, Carrillo and an accomplice exchanged messages in a Facebook group, discussing their plan to attack authorities.
CRITICAL QUOTE:
"Elements of The Boogaloo have evolved from a gathering of militia enthusiasts and Second Amendment advocates into a full-fledged violent extremist group, which inspires lone wolf actors and cell-like actors alike," said Joel Finkelstein, director of the Network Contagion Research Institute. "Given recent events and the inability of law enforcement to grasp and intercept this new mode of distributed terror, we think an increase in these kinds of violent attacks against police are almost inevitable."
Further Reading:
Facebook's Boogaloo Problem: A Record of Failure (TTP)
Accused Killer Of California Cops Was Associated With Right-Wing' Boogaloo Movement' (Forbes)
