Facebook will no longer allow Holocaust denialism in a policy change the platform announced on Monday.
The decision was made in part due to the “well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally” and the “alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust,” according to a statement from Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president of content policy.
“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,” she added, citing a survey but not naming it.
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the policy shift in a post of his own on the platform.
“We’ve long taken down posts that praise hate crimes or mass murder, including the Holocaust. But with rising anti-Semitism, we’re expanding our policy to prohibit any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust as well,” he wrote.
Zuckerberg also explained how his view on balancing free speech with preventing Holocaust denialism has changed.
“I’ve 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,” he added. “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.”
Facebook will also begin directing people who search for terms associated with Holocaust denialism to credible information on outside websites later this year.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt celebrated the decision, which he called “years in the making.” He added, “I can attest the ban on Holocaust Denial is a big deal,” in a post on social media.
