Facebook apologises for being inconsistent about offensive posts

Facebook has apologised for the inconsistencies in deleting offensive posts.

The apology comes after an investigation found that moderators failed to make the right decision almost half the time when deeply offensive posts were reported, according to The Telegraph.

"We're sorry for the mistakes we have made-they do not reflect the community we want to help build," Facebook Vice President Justin Osofsky said in a statement. "We must do better."

Osofsky said that Facebook deletes about 66,000 posts reported as hate speech every week but that simply being offensive was not enough to take them offline. Protected speech includes criticism of public figures, religions, profession and public ideologies.

As reported by ProPublica, the investigation revealed that in one case, Facebook censors, known as content reviewers, approved a picture of a corpse with the message "the only good muslim is a f...... dead one". However, another post that had the statement "death to the Muslims!!!" was removed.

Facebook plans to beef up the size of its safety and security team, which includes content reviewers, to 20,000 people next year.