In a dramatic shift in policy, Facebook announced today that it is banning white nationalism and separatism on its platform. The decision, which was first reported by Motherboard, comes just under two weeks since a white supremacist killed 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand.
In a blog post, Facebook said that any “praise, support, and representation of white nationalism and separatism” would be banned when the new policy goes into effect next week. “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services,” the blog read.
Facebook has prohibited white supremacist content for a while now, but hasn’t included white nationalism or separatism until today. Racist and hateful content based on race, ethnicity, and religion has been banned under the former policy, but under Facebook’s new rules, phrases like “Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer” will also be prohibited.
After facing backlash from academic experts for its content moderation policies, Facebook spent three months discussing the issue with anti-hate groups to conclude that white nationalism “cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups”.
“Going forward, while people will still be able to demonstrate pride in their ethnic heritage, we will not tolerate praise or support for white nationalism and separatism,” Facebook announced.
This move has been praised by racial justice advocacy groups even though it was “long overdue”.
The policy applies to both Facebook and Instagram and will go into effect next week.
