Any messages that deny
or distort the reality of the Holocaust
will now be banned on Facebook . Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of the social media giant, announced it on his profile, Monday, October 12: We have long withdrawn the advocacy messages of hate crimes and mass killings, including the Holocaust. But with the rise of anti-Semitism, we are expanding our rule to ban any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust as well.
This new measure will be implemented gradually. Users researching the Holocaust will be redirected to authoritative sources of information
, he said.
Influenced by the rise in “anti-Semitic violence”
Unlike countries like Germany or France, where all statements and messages denying the reality of the extermination of six million Jews by Nazi Germany, are prohibited by law; to the United States, revisionism and negationism are not prohibited. Case law even tends to place them under the protection of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
I struggled with this dilemma, between supporting free speech and the damage done by downplaying or denying the horror of the Holocaust.
, elaborates the founder of the platform. But my own thinking evolved when I saw the data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence
.
A Facebook statement released on Monday cites a study that found nearly a quarter of Americans between the ages of 18 and 39 believe the Holocaust is a myth
, what it’s exaggerated
or are not sure
.
He recalls that the network has already recently banned anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jewish power, which often figure in conspiracy theories.
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“Glad it finally happened”
In the summer of 2018, Mark Zuckerberg, who is himself Jewish, explained that he did not want to remove denial messages from Facebook.
Last July, a Facebook spokesperson again indicated that the social network was not removing content only because it is wrong
. Genocide survivors, however, asked the boss of the Californian group to remove denial content.
The American anti-Semitism organization Anti Defamation League (ADL) had just given several examples of private groups on Facebook in which users openly questioned the existence of the Holocaust or its extent.
This Facebook measure took years to take shape
, reacted on Twitter Jonathan Greenblatt, president of the ADL. Having personally worked with Facebook on this subject, I can attest that banning Holocaust denial is major […]. Glad it finally happened.
His NGO, associated with other civil society organizations, led this summer an advertising boycott followed by hundreds of companies against the social network, to force it to better monitor the so-called content. hateful
.
– .
