ETHIOPIANS HAVE filed a lawsuit against Meta for failing to remove hateful posts which they say incited war in the east African country.

The US tech giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is facing a lawsuit for £1.3 billion.

Ethiopian families claim their loved ones were killed as a result of ethically hateful posts shared on Facebook during the country’s bloody civil war in the Tigray region.

Earlier this month, the lawsuit was filed in the high court in Kenya.

The legal action is being backed by Amnesty International and six other human rights organisations who want compensation for victims of hate speech.

Abrham Meareg said that racist statements on the social media platform led to the persecution and death of his father in November 2021.

He said: “I’m suing Facebook so that no one ever experiences the same suffering as my family has. I want Facebook to apologise for my father’s murder and bring justice to the millions of my fellow Africans who were harmed by its business practices in Tigray.”

Mr Meareg claims his father, Meareg Amare, who was a professor at Bahir Dar University, in Amhara, Ethiopia, was targeted and murdered.

He said two Facebook posts falsely said his father was assisting the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – a group which was at war with the government.

He said the posts included his father’s picture and details the village he lived in, which put his life at risk.

Mr Meareg said he reported the post to Meta several times and even reported it to the moderator based in Nairobi Kenya, but the post was not taken down.

His father was allegedly tracked down and shot dead in November 2021.

“If Facebook had just stopped the spread of hate and moderated posts properly, my father would still be alive,” Mr Meareg said in a statement.

“I’m seeking justice for millions of my fellow Africans hurt by Facebook’s profiteering — and an apology for my father’s murder,” he added.

The case alleges that Facebook only removed the posts eight days after the killing.

Fisseha Tekle, who is a legal adviser at Amnesty International says human rights groups cannot protect people, if social media platforms fuel hate and misinformation.

“In Ethiopia, the people rely on social media for news and information. Because of the hate and disinformation on Facebook, human rights defenders have also become targets of threats and vitriol. I saw first-hand how the dynamics on Facebook harmed my own human rights work and hope this case will redress the imbalance,” he said.

The case is also demanding Meta impose necessary measures to reduce the spread of hateful posts which incite violence in Ethiopia.  

The lawsuit says it wants £1.3bn as compensation from Meta to launch a fund for victims of hate and violence perpetrated by Facebook.

“Upon the finding of liability as prayed above, an order establishing the Facebook Advertisements Victims Fund in Kenya to be administered by this honourable court or its nominee and to which the respondent shall be required to deposit Sh50 billion (£1.3bn) for the benefit of any Facebook user in Kenya who has been shown a boosted or sponsored post containing content that constitutes inciteful, hateful and dangerous speech,” the lawsuit states.

A Facebook spokesman said in a general statement: “We have strict rules which outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. Hate speech and incitement to violence are against these rules and we invest heavily in teams and technology to help us find and remove this content.”

This is the second case Meta is facing in Kenya.

A South African man, who was employed as a content moderator, accused the tech giant of poor working conditions and exploitation at its office in Nairobi.

In 2018, Facebook admitted that it did not do enough to prevent the incitement of violence and hate speech against the Rohingya – a Muslim minority in Myanmar.