LinkedIn hosted jihadist lectures, Blair institute reveals

Lectures by a radical Islamist cleric linked to the 9/11 attacks and other jihadist content have been discovered on LinkedIn.

The business-focused social network was alerted to the issue after an investigation by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

The Microsoft-owned business has since removed the material.

But it faces criticism for not having taken a more proactive stance ahead of the discovery.

According to the former prime minister's research body - whose remit includes counter-extremism - some of the documents had been on LinkedIn for eight years.

The researcher who made the discovery, earlier this month, said there had been no obvious way to flag the problem to the technology company, and ultimately relied on the Times newspaper to bring it to Microsoft's attention.

"Platforms must ensure that sufficient, effective reporting mechanisms are in place," Mubaraz Ahmed told the BBC.

"The likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Google have taken demonstrable and effective steps to counter terrorists' use of the internet, but other platforms must not ignore the risks or become complacent."

Original Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42338746