Facebook announced on Wednesday a comprehensive ban on white nationalism and white separatism, two ideologies that the company previously viewed as different from white supremacy, which the social network blocked in 2018.
But activists and civil rights groups have long argued that the tenets make up distinctions without a difference.
“Today we’re announcing a ban on praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism,” the social media giant said in a statement. “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.”
The new policy comes less than two weeks after a white supremecist killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The accused terrorist live-streamed the attack in a horrifying 17-minute video. He also posted a manifesto laden with racist and white nationalist parlance on social media before going into the mosques.
Facebook said it did not originally include white nationalism and separatism in its ban on white supremacy because the company understood them in “broader concepts of nationalism and separatism — things like American pride and Basque separatism, which are an important part of people’s identity.”
In recent months, however, the company realized “that white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups.”
Facebook said its realization came after speaking with activists in civil society, academics, and other experts on race relations.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups in the U.S. and pressured Facebook to make the change, praised the decision on Twitter.
However, the group criticized the platform for banning white supremacy but allowing white nationalist and separatist content to spread “despite the lack of difference between ideologies.”
Facebook was also pressured by the social justice organization Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to update its policy.
“Took hard work to achieve this victory but our work is not over,” tweeted Kristen Clarke, the group’s president and executive director. “We will be monitoring Facebook closely to ensure that they implement this policy fully. We can't allow violent white supremacists to incubate, organize & recruit on our online platforms.”
In addition to external counsel, Facebook said it conducted an internal review of hate figures and organizations on the platform, which revealed an overlap between white nationalism and separatism and white supremacy.
Moreover, when future users search for terms associated with white supremacy, Facebook will direct them to Life After Hate, a counter-extremist group that works to interrupt violence committed in the name of ideological or religious beliefs.
“Unfortunately, there will always be people who try to game our systems to spread hate,” Facebook’s statement added. “Our challenge is to stay ahead by continuing to improve our technologies, evolve our policies and work with experts who can bolster our own efforts.”
The ban will apply to Facebook and Instagram and go into effect next week.
It's no secret tech giant Amazon has a mission of becoming a major player in sports media, and the company is poised to make progress on that goal in 2022. Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home to Thursday Night Football for the 2022-23 NFL season. In December, the New York Post reported that Amazon is in the beginning stages of developing studio sports programs, and hopes to soon have a full daily lineup of sports shows. Front Office Sports senior reporter A.J. Perez joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Digital mental health company Little Otter recently announced it closed a $22 million Series A round. Little Otter was founded in 2020 by a mother-daughter team, which based the company on the idea that a child's mental health can only be addressed by treating the whole family through technology available to everyone. Little Otter CEO and co-founder Rebecca Egger and her mother, Little Otter Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and co-founder Dr. Helen Egger joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Cheddar News to break down the battle between two NFT collections by Phunky Ape Yacht Club and PHAYC that are selling plagiarized Bored Ape Yacht Club designs.
Covid-19 has changed the way we view wellness. Jillian Hughes, communications director of Mental Health America, joins Cheddar News to discuss breaking the stigma around mental health. Justin Davis, CEO and co-founder of Spectrum Labs, weighs in on how social media impacts our wellbeing. Lastly, Precision Nutrition CEO Timothy Jones advices us on what trends to watch in 2022.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Founder of Unlimited Tomorrow breaks down how he is creating completely 3D printed prosthetics to make them more affordable, customizable, and accessible; Chief Technology Officer of Zebra Technologies explains what the future of collaboration between robots and humans may look like; A look at Curiosity Stream's 'Mystery of the Roman Skulls.'
According to a recent analysis from ProPublica and the Wall Street Journal an analysis of Facebook posts, internal company documents, and interviews reveal key evidence about the social media giant's role in January 6 insurrection. National Reporter at ProPublica Craig Silverman, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
In the fight against climate change, much of the conversation revolves around reducing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide or methane - and attempting to raise oxygen levels. But there's another gas - hydrogen - that could play a big role in the fight for the climate. Marco Alvera, CEO of Italian energy infrastructure company Snam and author of the book, 'The Hydrogen Revolution,' joined Cheddar Climate to explain the role hydrogen plays in helping achieve a net-zero future.
