Facebook Bans Far Right — “White Nationalism and White Supremacy Synonymous”

The biggest Social Media platform, Facebook announced that it no longer separates the terms ‘White Nationalism’ and ‘White Supremacy.’ In an official statement, Facebook revealed that they have been in regular discussion with experts on race relations and members of civil society regarding the issue of race-related hate speech.

In its first move, Facebook avoided the corporate jargon and objectively stated that the hate groups have ‘no place’ on the platform. Furthermore, the platform now considers ‘White Nationalism,’ ‘White Separatism’ and ‘White Supremacy’ synonymous with each other.

However, things always weren’t this clear when it came to Facebook. Only a few days ago, Motherboard reported the presence of rising far-right and Nazi sympathizers on its platform. Facebook refused to take action on these pages, citing compliance with community guidelines.

Another report from Counter Extremism Project pinned Facebook down over its inaction against ‘White Supremacy’ groups. However, the recent firm stand of the social media giant will certainly help in disassembling the concerning growth of the ‘far right.’

Facebook also laid down an action plan to help people online. It will redirect all the searches for White nationalism, white supremacy or any other hate-related term to ‘Life After Hate.’ It is a non-violent advocacy group founded by former-extremists. The focus of this group is to help people leave the far right rabbit hole. This feature is not yet rolled out in the full scale but it will be starting next week.

After Facebook, other Social Media platforms like YouTube and Twitter will also see a growing pressure to curb hate-speech. For long, Facebook kept a clear distinction between White Supremacy and Separatism. Due to this, a large number of Nazi hate groups have sprung up in recent years. Their strategery had always been to disguise hate speech as ‘free speech.’ Fortunately, this dubious practice will no longer work.

Also Read: Facebook Failing To Curb Rise Of Neo-Nazi Groups, Suggests Report