According to new research from Eko, a nonprofit campaign group focused on corporate responsibility, social media giants Meta and X approved ads that targeted users in Germany with violent anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hate speech in the lead-up to the country’s federal elections.
The researchers tested whether the platforms’ ad review systems would approve or reject submissions for ads that contain violent and hateful messaging targeting minorities ahead of an election where immigration has taken center stage in mainstream political discourse. These ads included anti-Muslim slurs, calls for immigrants to be gassed or imprisoned in concentration camps, and AI-generated imagery of mosques and synagogues being burned.
In mid-February, the majority of the test advertisements were accepted within hours of being sent in for evaluation. The federal elections in Germany are scheduled for Sunday, February 23.
