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Facebook bans white nationalism and white separatism after realizing its no different than white supremacy

Facebook is reversing course and banning white nationalism and white separatism from its platform.

Motherboard reported on Wednesday that Facebook is shifting its policy on white nationalism and white separatism and made the decision to ban them from the platform one day prior. Shortly after Motherboard’s report, Facebook posted a statement, titled “Standing Against Hate,” on its website confirming the policy update.

As part of the policy update, Facebook will also direct users searching for content related to white supremacy on its platform to Life After Hate, a nonprofit organization that provides support and education to help people leave hate groups and movements.

In a screenshot attached to Facebook’s post, the company showcased just how the support link recommendation will look for banned searches for white supremacist content.

Facebook originally allowed content in support of white nationalism and white separatism on the social networking site. In a document leaked to Motherboard last year, the company specifically distinguished those ideologies from white supremacy, which was previously banned from Facebook, in its moderation policies.

“Our policies have long prohibited hateful treatment of people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity or religion – and that has always included white supremacy,” said Facebook in its statement. “We didn’t originally apply the same rationale to expressions of white nationalism and separatism because we were thinking about broader concepts of nationalism and separatism – things like American pride and Basque separatism, which are an important part of people’s identity.”

The social network reportedly began reviewing these policies later that year after public outcry related to these moderation policies. Facebook consulted with nearly two dozen civil rights groups, academics, and race relations groups and reached a decision after concluding that there is no difference between the three ideologies. 

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“We decided that the overlap between white nationalism, white separatism, and white supremacy is so extensive we really can’t make a meaningful distinction between them,” Facebook policy director of counterterrorism Brian Fishman told Motherboard. “That’s because the language and the rhetoric that is used and the ideology that it represents overlaps to a degree that it is not a meaningful distinction.”

According to Facebook, to combat white supremacists and other hate groups, the company will deploy the same type of machine learning and artificial intelligence technology it uses to keep ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups off its platform.

Facebook’s policy change comes less than two weeks after a white supremacist shooter livestreamed video of his terrorist attack on the platform. The shooting left 51 people dead at two separate mosques in New Zealand.

Earlier this week, the French Council of the Muslim Faith filed a lawsuit against Facebook, as well as YouTube, for not removing video of the New Zealand shooting quickly enough.

“Today’s announcement that white nationalist and separatist content will be banned from both Facebook and Instagram is a welcome development,” said Madihha Ahussain of the civil rights group Muslim Advocates in an email statement to Mashable. “Now, the question is: how will Facebook interpret and enforce this new policy to prevent another tragedy like the Christchurch mosque attacks?” 

In Facebook’s leaked internal moderation policy last year, the company classified statements in support of white nationalism or the creation of a white ethno-state as permissible on the platform. It’s currently unclear what other sort of views fall under what the company will view as white supremacy.

“We need to know how Facebook will define white nationalist and white separatist content,” said Ahussain. “Will it include expressions of anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ sentiment — all underlying foundations of white nationalism? If the policy lacks robust, informed and assertive enforcement, it will continue to leave vulnerable communities at the mercy of hate groups. As the horror in New Zealand has once again shown us, hate has deadly consequences.”

Facebook says it will start enforcing this new policy next week.

“For years, Muslim Advocates and other civil rights groups have been advocating for reforms and accountability mechanisms to ensure that Facebook is a safe platform and is used for good, not hate, in the world,” said Ahussain. “We look forward to working with Facebook to ensure that this new policy is fully implemented and enforced to protect all vulnerable communities from hate.”

Mashable has reached out to Facebook for additional information on its updated hate policy and will update this post as soon as we hear back.

UPDATE: March 27, 2019, 5:25 p.m. EDT The racial justice organization Color of Change sent Mashable the following statement from its president, Rashad Robinson:

“Color Of Change alerted Facebook years ago to the growing dangers of white nationalists on its platform, and today, we are glad to see the company’s leadership take this critical step forward in updating its policy on white nationalism. We look forward to continuing our work with Facebook to ensure that the platform’s content moderation guidelines and trainings properly support the updated policy and are informed by  civil rights and racial justice organizations.

Facebook’s update should move Twitter, YouTube, and Amazon to act urgently to stem the growth of white nationalist ideologies, which find space on platforms to spread the violent ideas and rhetoric that inspired the tragic attacks witnessed in Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, and now Christchurch. 

Color Of Change and its 1.5 million members will continue to work with Facebook to ensure the platform is safe for everyone and hold the leadership of all social platforms accountable to making the safety of users from marginalized communities an operational priority.” 

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