VOA慢速英语2020 “脸书”因损害公民权利摊上事了？

An audit¹ on Facebooks civil rights record has found "serious setbacks" in its efforts to deal with issues such as hate speech and misinformation.

对Facebook民权记录的审计发现，该公司在处理仇恨言论和虚假信息等问题上存在严重问题。 

The social media company ordered the investigation² two years ago to measure Facebooks performance on major social issues.The findings were released on Wednesday.

两年前，这家社交媒体公司下令进行调查，以衡量Facebook在重大社会问题上的表现。调查结果于周三公布。

The auditors³ reported that Facebook had taken "important steps forward in building a long-term civil rights accountability structure."

审计人员报告说，Facebook“在建立一个长期的民权问责结构方面迈出了重要的一步”。 

But they said the steps do not go far enough "and should not be the end of Facebooks progress."

但他们表示，这些措施还远远不够，“不应该成为Facebook进步的终结”。 

The report says Facebooks progress could be obscured by the "painful decisions" the company has made that "represent significant setbacks for civil rights."

该报告称，Facebook所做的“在民权方面的重大问题”的艰苦决定，可能会阻碍其发展。 

The audit suggests that Facebook attempt to build a "civil rights infrastructure⁴" into every part of the company.

这份审计报告显示，Facebook试图在公司的每一个部门都建立一个“公民权利保障机构”。 

The auditors expressed concern at how the company chose to deal with some Facebook posts by politicians, including U.S. President Donald Trump⁵.

审计人员对该公司选择如何处理包括美国总统特朗普在内的一些政界人士在Facebook上的帖子表示担忧。

One of his messages was widely criticized for giving false information about the process of voting by mail.In another post – appearing on both Facebook and Twitter – Trump used the words:"Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

他的一条信息因通过邮件提供有关投票过程的虚假信息而受到广泛批评。在脸书和推特上的另一篇帖子中，特朗普使用了这样一句话:“无论遇到任何困难，我们都将控制局势。但是，打砸开始，枪击就会开始。”

The second message was posted in May during protests after the death of 46-year-old George Floyd.Some of the demonstrations⁶ turned violent.

第二条信息发布于今年5月46岁的乔治·弗洛伊德去世后的抗议活动中。一些示威变成了暴力。 

Floyd died after a Minneapolis police officer held his leg on Floyds neck for more than eight minutes.

一名明尼阿波利斯警察用他的腿抵住弗洛伊德的脖子超过8分钟后致其死亡。 

Twitter acted on both posts by Trump, saying they had violated its policies.

推特对特朗普的这两条帖子采取了行动，称它们违反了推特的规定。 

In the first case, Twitter warned users that the claims about voting by mail had been judged to be false by investigators⁷.

在第一个案例中，推特警告用户说，调查人员已经证明邮件投票是错误的。 

In the second, Twitter hid Trumps⁸ message, saying it violated its policy against "glorifying⁹ violence."

在第二起事件中，推特隐藏了特朗普的信息，称这违反了其反对“美化暴力”的规定。 

Facebook did not take action against either post.

Facebook没有对这两个帖子采取行动。 

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg defended the companys decision,saying it represented a commitment to free speech.

Facebook首席执行官马克·扎克伯格为公司的决定辩护，说它履行了维护言论自由的承诺。 

Facebooks position was that the Trump messages "did not violate its community standards," the report said.But the auditors said they strongly disagreed, claiming the messages "clearly violated Facebooks policies."The report said Facebooks unwillingness¹⁰ to act

该报道称，Facebook的立场是，特朗普的信息“没有违反其团体标准”。但审计人员表示他们强烈反对，声称这些信息“明显违反了Facebook的政策”。该报告称，Facebook不愿采取行动，

seemed "to reflect a statement of values that protecting free expression is more important than other stated company values."

看起来“反映了一种价值观声明，即保护自由表达比其他公开的公司价值观更重要”。 

Facebooks Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg,described the audit as a "really important process for our company."

Facebook首席运营官谢丽尔·桑德伯格称这次审计“对我们公司来说非常重要”。 

She said in a statement the auditors had "looked at a wide range of civil rights issues, including our policies against hate."

她在一份声明中说，审计人员“研究了广泛的民权问题，包括我们反对仇恨的政策”。 

"We have made real progress over the years, but this work is never finished," Sandberg said. "There are no quick fixes to these issues - nor should there be… What has become increasingly clear is that we have a long way to go."

桑德伯格说:“这些年来，我们确实取得了进展，但这项工作从未结束。”“这些问题没有捷径可走，也不应该有捷径……越来越明显的是，我们还有很长的路要走。”

The findings were announced at a time

该调查结果公布的同时， 

when hundreds of advertisers have joined a boycott¹¹ of Facebook to pressure the company to do more to remove hate speech.

数百广告商加入了抵制Facebook的行列，向该公司施压，要求其采取更多措施消除仇恨言论。 

On Tuesday, organizers of the boycott held a video conference with Zuckerberg and Sandberg.After the meeting, activists¹² said they saw "no commitment to action" from the company.

周二，抵制活动的组织者与扎克伯格和桑德伯格举行了视频会议。会后，会议结束后，维权人士表示，他们并没有看到Facebook“采取行动的承诺”。

Im Jonathan Evans.

乔纳森·埃文斯报道。 

 

1 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 auditors   

n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生

参考例句：

• The company has been in litigation with its previous auditors for a full year. 那家公司与前任审计员已打了整整一年的官司。
• a meeting to discuss the annual accounts and the auditors' report thereon 讨论年度报表及其审计报告的会议

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 glorifying   

赞美( glorify的现在分词 )； 颂扬； 美化； 使光荣

参考例句：

• I had no intention of either glorifying or belittling Christianity, merely the desire to understand it. 我并没有赞扬基督教或蔑视它的立意，我所想的只是了解它。
• You are glorifying a rather mediocre building. 你正在美化一栋普普通通的建筑。

10 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

11 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》