In a major policy shift for the world’s biggest social media network, Facebook banned white nationalism and white separatism on its platform Tuesday.
Facebook will also begin directing users who try to post content associated with those ideologies to a nonprofit that helps people leave hate groups, Motherboard has learned.
Last year, a Motherboard investigation found that, though Facebook banned “white supremacy” on its platform, it explicitly allowed “white nationalism” and “white separatism.”
“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.
Specifically, Facebook will now ban content that includes explicit praise, support, or representation of white nationalism or separatism.
Implicit and coded white nationalism and white separatism will not be banned immediately, in part because the company said it’s harder to detect and remove.
The new policy is a significant change from the company’s old policies on white separatism and white nationalism. »
