Facebook auto-generates videos celebrating extremist images

A confidential whistleblower's complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained by The Associated Press alleges the social media company has exaggerated its success in removing extremist content.

Even worse, it shows that the company is inadvertently using propaganda by militants and hate groups to auto-generate videos and pages that could be used for networking.

Facebook likes to give the impression that it's staying ahead of extremists by taking down their posts, often before users ever even see them.

But over five months last year, researchers monitored pages by users who affiliated themselves with groups designated as terrorist organizations. In that period, only 38 percent of the posts with prominent symbols of extremist groups were removed.

The company concedes that its systems are not perfect, but says they are improving.