Ex-minister warns social media firms they risk becoming ‘agents of hate’ in the wake of terror attack
SOCIAL media giants were today put on notice that they risk becoming "agents of hate" in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.
Former minister Tessa Jowell slammed sites such as Facebook and Twitter for allowing extreme views to spread online.
She also criticised the companies for letting users share fabricated messages by fraudsters pretending they are looking for missing friends and relatives.
Web firms have previously been slammed for failing to crack down on terrorists organising and celebrating attacks through the internet.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Lady Jowell said that social networks need to become "better citizens".
She was asked about the phenomenon of web trolls sharing fake pictures of supposed terror victims in order to drive traffic to their accounts.
The ex-Culture Secretary replied: "Increasingly the social media companies have to be better citizens, better and more principled citizens, than they are being shown to be at the moment."
She also warned that social media could inflame extremist rhetoric in the aftermath of the attack, which has left at least 22 people dead.
Lady Jowell said: "This is something that has to be systematically discussed, engaged in, with the social media companies that they risk becoming agents of hate."
She added: "Offset against the deranged horror of whatever motivated this person to inflict this on these children is the humanity and the generosity that brings the city together.
"I think that we have to see a long-term commitment to helping the city rebuild, to helping and supporting these bereaved cities and also supporting the survivors whose lives have changed for ever."
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Recalling the aftermath of the 2005 Tube bombings in London, she predicted that victims of last night's atrocity will need a decade of care and treatment to help them recover from their ordeal.
After the knife attack on Westminster earlier this year, WhatsApp was criticised for allowing terrorists to communicate through encrypted messages which are inaccessible to security services.
Twitter and Facebook are frequently used by extremists from ISIS and similar groups to share plans and celebrate atrocities.