How Facebook let advertisers target ‘white genocide’ conspiracy theorists
Facebook let another racist trope slip into its advertising platform, this time allowing marketers to select a target audience of people interested in the bogus “white genocide” theory, it was revealed Friday.
After running a series of tests on Facebook’s automated platform, The Intercept discovered the ability to target people who had demonstrated an interest in the conspiracy. Facebook said this specific audience — people who believe outside influences are colluding to destroy the white race — should never have been created in its system.
This wasn’t the first time Facebook’s ad tools were used to create offensive targeting groups. A year ago, ProPublica found that advertisers could target “Jew haters” and other anti-Semitic terms.
