Facebook is automatically creating militia group pages as extremists continue to organize openly.
Before the elections, opposition militias to the government are using Facebook to recruit, organize trainings, and promote ballot monitoring. Meta is not shutting down their groups and is, in fact, automatically generating pages for them.
A prominent member of a Three Percenter militia in Kentucky expressed his frustration in a post: “Many of us are upset. We need a place for all patriots from all states to go when the time comes.” The response from other members was affirming, with one commenting that it was time for “the enemy to pay a price for their treachery and crimes against humanity.” These militia activity plans did not emerge from private conversations on encrypted platforms, but were developed on a public Facebook profile.
Anti-government militia movements have continued to use Facebook as a means of recruiting, coordinating training, promoting surveillance at the polls, and preparing for a civil war that many militants anticipate will erupt after election day. In some cases, these groups are attracting individuals who lack prior militia experience. Meta's platform, for its part, appears to facilitate the growth of these movements by auto-generating some group pages in their name.
Data extracted by the Tech Transparency Project indicates that these groups have continued to proliferate on Facebook, despite previously highlighted failures in Meta's moderation. The expansion of paramilitary activity on social media, just days before the elections, highlights Meta's lack of rigor in enforcing its own bans against groups it considers dangerous extremists. For militias, platforms like Facebook are crucial for expanding and radicalizing their network, as well as facilitating local organization at the state and county levels and increasing their membership numbers.
Since the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, the paramilitary movement has been less visible than in previous years. After the unrest, many militias withdrew from the streets, facing intense public and legal scrutiny, which was intensified by the prosecution of numerous members of the Oath Keepers. Some groups attempted to distance themselves from the movement by removing the reference to being a "militia" from their sites, opting for more euphemistic names like "civil guard" or "patriot group." However, following the turbulent political situation, the movement began to quietly reorganize on Facebook, increasing their training and coordinating activities by state and county.
The Tech Transparency Project has compiled a list that includes 262 public and private Facebook groups, as well as 193 pages created for militia and anti-government activists since January 6, 2021. Almost two dozen of those groups and pages have been created since May, some of which make scant effort to disguise their links to extremist networks. Recently, the movement's reliance on individual profiles associated with local militia leaders has grown. In 2020, Meta took action against the American Patriots Three Percent (AP3) by banning it for being considered a “militarized social movement.” Despite this, posts from AP3 groups and profiles are still visible on the platform.
Meta has faced criticism for automatically generating pages for militias. Nevertheless, AP3 leaders have emphasized in videos the importance of Facebook for their group. In this context, one of their leaders, Scot Seddon, highlighted that the platform has been crucial for their operational success and that they should use all available tools to achieve their goals.
The paramilitary network on Facebook is in full development, seeking to connect, train, and prepare, while some new members join groups in search of alliances and organization for what they consider an imminent civil war. In this environment, discussions about poll surveillance and combat tactics have resurfaced, emphasizing a climate of paranoia and preparation for a potential civil conflict.
The administrator of a New Hampshire group explained that he met with the local police chief to discuss measures in case of a civil war outbreak. This environment of preparation and discussion has also echoed in various public Facebook groups, where armed measures and pre-election surveillance strategies are proposed, highlighting the combination of political tensions and the mobilization of extremist groups as elections approach.
