Meta on January 8 riots: don’t hate the game, hate the player

Amid attempts in Brazil and other countries around the world to regulate social media platforms in the name of restricting hate speech and stymieing the spread of dangerous disinformation, Big Tech company Meta wiped its hands of any responsibility, claiming it is “doing [its] part.”

In Brazil, fresh and urgent impetus to curb disinformation on social media came in the wake of the January 8 riots, when far-right radicals stormed and ransacked the headquarters of all three branches of government in Brasília. Roused by false information and conspiracy theories spread online, the mob was protesting the 2022 election results, falsely claiming that the presidential race had been rigged in favor of eventual winner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

But in a recent statement, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp developer Meta reiterated that “the responsibility for what happened in Brazil on January 8 lies with those who broke the law by invading and destroying public buildings,” and not with its social media platforms.

“And the idea that we did not act to protect the 2022 elections in Brazil is simply not corroborated by the facts or data,” the company added.

Brazil is one of Facebook’s largest markets,...