Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Facebook to ban content that denies or distorts the Holocaust

Published 10/12/2020, 10:27 AM
Updated 10/12/2020, 11:35 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration

By Elizabeth Culliford

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) said on Monday it was updating its hate speech policy to ban any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust.

The move comes two years after Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in a 2018 interview with tech website Recode said that while he found Holocaust denial deeply offensive, he did not think Facebook should delete such content.

"I've struggled with the tension between standing for free expression and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the horror of the Holocaust," said Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, in a Facebook post on Monday.

"My own thinking has evolved as I've seen data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence, as have our wider policies on hate speech," he said.

The social media company said that, starting later this year, it would also direct people searching for terms associated with the Holocaust or its denial to credible information off Facebook.

The World Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee praised the move.

"For several years, the World Jewish Congress has advocated for Facebook to remove Holocaust denial content from its platform," that group said in a statement.

This summer, civil rights groups organized a widespread Facebook advertising boycott to try to pressure social media companies to act against hate speech on their platforms.

"This has been years in the making. Having personally engaged with @Facebook on the issue, I can attest the ban on Holocaust Denial is a big deal," tweeted Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, one of the boycott's organizers. "Glad it finally happened," he added.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has also pushed for Facebook to ban Holocaust denial content and has called for Zuckerberg to meet with survivors through its #NoDenyingIt social media campaign.

In August, Facebook banned certain anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and stereotypes.

In its blog post https:// the company cited a recent survey that found almost a quarter of adults in the U.S. aged 18-39 said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, that it had been exaggerated or they were not sure.

The company said that enforcement of its new policies would not "happen overnight."

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo on a computer screen is seen through a magnifying glass held by a woman in Bern

"There is a range of content that can violate these policies, and it will take some time to train our reviewers and systems on enforcement," it said.

Latest comments

everyone knows jews are the real nazis!
Why is there only one thing it is illegal to discuss question or debate? The more they push for laws and censorship, the more they give credibility to the unhinged.
Everywhere they go, they/jews become the riches, the 1% that the left hate so much
And they are very evil
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.