Skip to main content current edition: International edition The Guardian - Back to home Become a supporter Subscribe Find a job Jobs Sign in Search Show More Close with google sign in become a supporter subscribe search find a job dating more from the guardian: change edition: edition International edition The Guardian - Back to home browse all sections close Facebook Facebook strategist rejects PM's claim over extremist material Counter-terrorism expert says that, contrary to Theresa May’s assertion, technology companies are treating the problem of terrorist content seriously Artificial intelligence programs are being created to identify extremist material online. extremist material online. -- 37 GMT This article is 3 months old Facebook’s senior counter-terrorism strategist has dismissed Theresa May’s demand that the company should go “further and faster” to remove material created by terrorists and their supporters, describing the claim that it does not do enough as unhelpful. Artificial intelligence programs are being created to identify such material, and hundreds of people are employed to search for content that should be removed, said Brian Fishman, who manages the company’s global counter-terrorism policy. In response to a question about May’s assertions that big internet companies provide a safe space for terrorism, Fishman said: “Facebook’s policy on this is really clear. -- We’re trying to enable computers to do what they’re good at: look at lots of material very quickly, give us a high-level overview. We’ve also recently started to use artificial intelligence,” Fishman said. However, the use of human assessors remains critical as computers cannot comprehend the nuanced context of some material, such as some online messages intended to counter terrorist propaganda.