Facebook will begin taking down Holocaust denial posts, reversing its long-held stance against policing the anti-Semitic content.
The social network made the change Monday when it updated its hate speech policies, citing “the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people.”
Facebook will soon begin directing users who search its platform for terms associated with the Holocaust to credible information not hosted on its website.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, who is Jewish, wrote on his personal Facebook page that he has “struggled with the tension between standing for free expression and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the horror of the Holocaust.”
“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,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg in 2018 was harshly criticized for comments he made defending Facebook’s previous policy of allowing the content on its site when he appeared to argue that Holocaust denial isn’t necessarily spurred by hate.
Source: NY Post
