In an October 12 statement, Facebook announced that it will ban all Holocaust denial content on its platform.
The social media giant will also direct people who search for Holocaust-related terms to resources outside of Facebook, although it did not provide any specifics.
“Today’s announcement marks another step in our effort to fight hate on our services,” the statement read. “Our decision is supported by the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people. According to a recent survey of adults in the US aged 18-39, almost a quarter said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, that it had been exaggerated or they weren’t sure.”
Facebook credited various Jewish groups like the American Jewish Committee and Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) for teaching Facebook about the many ways anti-Semitism manifests itself online.
“Enforcement of these policies cannot happen overnight,” the statement concluded. “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. We are grateful to many partners for their input and candor as we work to keep our platform safe.”
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his 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. 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,” he added.
https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10112455086578451
Jewish groups praised Facebook for its decision.
“This has been years in the making,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted. “Having personally engaged with @Facebook on the issue, I can attest the ban on Holocaust Denial is a big deal. Whether it’s @ADL & #StopHateForProfit’s insistence, #NoDenyingIt-it doesn’t matter. Glad it finally happened.”
He added in a subsequent tweet: “Relieved that Zuckerberg and Facebook recognize the harm Holocaust Denial causes. Again, I wish this had happened five years ago, three years ago or even earlier this year, but as MLK said: ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’”
Relieved that Zuckerberg and Facebook recognize the harm Holocaust Denial causes. Again, I wish this had happened five years ago, three years ago or even earlier this year, but as MLK said: "The time is always right to do what is right." pic.twitter.com/cto05hSO6z
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 12, 2020
American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris similarly called Facebook’s announce “profoundly significant” in a statement.
“With knowledge of the systematic Nazi murder of six million Jews waning in the United States and around the world, particularly among young people, the power and credibility of Facebook are vital to preserving the facts of the most documented genocide in history, and helping maintain the guardrails against any possible recurrence,” Harris said. “There shouldn’t be a sliver of doubt about what the Nazi German regime did, nor should such a mega-platform as Facebook be used by antisemites to peddle their grotesque manipulation of history.”
Simon Wiesenthal Center founder and CEO Rabbi Marvin Hier and Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper also saidin a statement, “Denying the Holocaust has never been about free speech, but only as a tool for genocide-seeking Iran, neo-Nazis and bigots to demean the dead and threaten the living… At a time when the Internet is awash with fake news and technological tools that enable governments and virtually anyone to manipulate information we welcome Facebook’s change of policy to stand with historic fact and the 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany during WWII [World War II].”
They added that Facebook’s policy changes will make a difference, pointing to the Iranian government doubling “down on its Jew-hatred by launching its third annual Holocaust Denial Cartoon contest; a principal in Florida who refuses to acknowledge the Holocaust as historic fact was rehired by a school board; and a poll indicates that most young Americans know virtually about history’s worst crime. The SWC therefore commends Facebook for redirecting anyone seeking to question or deny the Nazi Holocaust to reliable sources online which will educate them to the truth.”
StandWithUs founder and CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement to the Journal, “StandWithUs is extremely grateful to Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for this good news. In the face of the shocking lack of information about the Shoah, Facebook’s efforts in this area are critically important. As a daughter of Holocaust Survivors, I know that avoiding misinformation about the Holocaust will help people learn the truth about the greatest tragedy of the Jewish people.”
