Facebook Bans Holocaust Denial In Major Reversal

Topline

Facebook announced Monday that it will now ban any content that “denies or distorts the Holocaust” on its platform—two years after CEO Mark Zuckerberg came under fire for specifically defending the social media network allowing such content—as the company responds to growing outrage over its inability to fully eradicate hate speech from its platform.

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“I’ve struggled with the tension between standing for free expression and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the horror of the Holocaust,” Zuckerberg wrote. “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. Drawing the right lines between what is and isn’t acceptable speech isn’t straightforward, but with the current state of the world, I believe this is the right balance.”

Big Number

49%. That’s the percentage of millennial and Gen Z respondents to the Claims Conference survey that said they “have seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online.”

Key Background

Facebook has been taking stronger action against the proliferation of hate speech and misinformation on its platform in recent months, banning high-profile movements like QAnon and taking stronger action against white supremacist and self-described militia groups while strengthening policies around issues like voting-based misinformation. The efforts come as Facebook has come under widespread criticism for its repeated permissiveness of hate speech on its platform, which spurred a widespread “Stop Hate For Profit” advertising boycott. Despite the company’s actions, however, issues with the company’s enforcement of its hate speech policies still remain, as when Facebook initially left up the Facebook page for a self-described militia group in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that posted a “call to arms” event in August directly before two protesters in Kenosha were shot. (Zuckerberg later described the company’s failure to remove the page as an “operational mistake.”)

Further Reading

Hosting the ‘Holohoax’: A Snapshot of Holocaust Denial Across Social Media (ISD)

First-Ever 50-State Survey On Holocaust Knowledge of American Millenials and Gen Z Reveals Shocking Results (Claims Conference)

The controversy over Mark Zuckerberg’s comments on Holocaust denial, explained (Vox)

Facebook Has Banned QAnon (Forbes)

Facebook Sued By Victims Of Kenosha Protest Violence For ‘Empowering’ Militias (Forbes)