Facebook to ban praise and support of white nationalism and separatism

Facebook will prohibit praise and support of white nationalism on its platform from next week.

Facebook acts to ban praise and support of white nationalism and separatism on its platform in an effort to combat hate groups.

Facebook will ban praise and support of white nationalism and separatism on its platform from next week, in an effort to combat hate groups.

The platform said Facebook and Instagram would “no longer” tolerate support for white nationalism or separatism, in addition to prohibiting content which encourages hate of a race, ethnicity or religion, and would redirect those using search terms relating to white supremacy to websites which could provide them with crisis intervention and support.

“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,” the post said.

Facebook’s announcement comes after the Australian government warned it may pass new laws which would see social media executives jailed if they did not remove “abhorrent violent material” from their platforms quickly.

Representatives from Twitter, Facebook and Google all appeared in front of the Prime Minister, Attorney-General and Communications Minister in Brisbane this week, after they were heavily criticised for their involvement in the distribution of a live video of the New Zealand Christchurch shootings on March 15, which was later republished and share across other platforms.

Following the meeting, Twitter released a statement saying it would continue to invest in technology and people to prevent exploitation of the internet by extremists.

A post on Facebook Newsroom, released on March 27, said it was clear the white nationalism and separatism were directly linked to hate groups, and that white nationalism could not be meaningfully be separated from white supremacy and organised hate groups.

The digital platform also said it would look to improve processes and become faster at finding and removing hate from its platforms, and would redirect those who used search terms relating to white supremacy to resources which would help them leave hate groups.

“People searching for these terms will be directed to Life After Hate, an organisation founded by former violent extremists that provides crisis intervention, education, support groups and outreach,” the statement said.“Unfortunately, there will always be people who try to game our systems to spread hate. 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. We are deeply committed and will share updates as this process moves forward.”