Facebook will ban content that 'denies or distorts' Holocaust, says Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the social media giant has updated its hate speech policy to explicitly ban Holocaust denial content. In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said that he has struggled with the dilemma of 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,” wrote Zuckerberg. 

The internet entrepreneur said that Facebook has been taking down the posts praising hate crimes and mass murder for a long time, including the Holocaust. The company has now decided to expand its policy to “prohibit any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust” amid rising anti-Semitism. Zuckerberg said that Facebook will start directing to authoritative sources to get accurate information if a user searches for 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 concluded.

The social media giant has been facing heat it for its hate speech policy, including the controversy surrounding Myanmar elections. During the crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, several reports claimed that Myanmar military personnel turned Facebook into a tool for ethnic cleansing. 

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Preparations ahead of Myanmar elections

Facebook recently announced that it is working to reduce the spread of harmful misinformation and removal of inauthentic networks in Myanmar that seek to manipulate public opinion. One of the executives for Southeast Asia said that Facebook has expanded its misinformation policy in Myanmar to remove misinformation that could lead to voter suppression or damage the integrity of the electoral process. 

“For example, we would remove posts falsely claiming a candidate is a Bengali, not a Myanmar citizen, and thus ineligible,” wrote Rafael Frankel, Director of Public Policy Southeast Asia.

Facebook introduced its third-party fact-checking program in Myanmar in March as part of its ongoing integrity efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation. The social media firm said that it has identified and disrupted six networks engaging in Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior in Myanmar since 2018.

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