Facebook BANS white nationalism and white separatism from its platform and Instagram as it attempts to bring down the hammer on extremist content

• Facebook is now barring posts about white nationalism and white separatism
• Posts including language like 'I am a proud white nationalist' will be banned
• The policy will be put in place starting next week for all of its 2 billion-plus users
• Users who try to post these kinds of content to the site will now be redirected by Facebook to a nonprofit organization that help individuals leave hate groups

Facebook has banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform, in what likely constitutes its most aggressive action against extremist content yet.

The policy will be put in place starting next week and will affect all of Facebook's nearly 2 billion-wide user base, in addition to Instagram, the firm announced. 

'It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services,' Facebook wrote in a blog post.  

The social media giant has removed posts from extremist groups in the past for violating its policies around hate speech and abuse, but has historically fallen short of outright banning posts of this kind. 

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Facebook has banned white nationalism and white separatist posts from its platform, in what likely constitutes its most sweeping action against extremist content yet

WHAT KINDS OF POSTS WILL BE BANNED?  

Previously, Facebook only banned posts promoting white supremacism.

The firm decided today that it will now ban white nationalist and white separatist posts from its platform.

Civil rights groups argued that the three extremist ideologies were indistinguishable and should all be banned. 

Posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart' will immediately be banned. 

If a user tries to publish a post around these themes, they'll instead be redirected to a nonprofit called Life After Hate, which helps individuals involved in these extremist groups exit them safely.

The policy shift was first reported by Motherboard.  

As part of the sweeping crackdown, Facebook will no longer allow posts that include statements like 'I am a proud white nationalist' and 'Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer' to remain on its site.  

'We’ve had conversations with more than 20 members of civil society, academics, in some cases these were civil-rights organizations, experts in race relations from around the world,' Facebook's policy director of counterrorism told Motherboard. 

'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.' 

If a user posts content including these statements or themes, Facebook will now direct them toward a nonprofit that helps people leave hate groups, Motherboard reported. 

The nonprofit, Life After Hate, was created by ex-white power activists and serves as an 'exit' program to help people 'leave the violent far right.' 

'If people are exploring this movement, we want to connect them with folks that will be able to provide support offline,' Fishman told Motherboard. 

'This is the kind of work that we think is part of a comprehensive program to take this sort of movement on.'

Prior to Wednesday's decision, Facebook had only prevented users from sharing messages that promoted white supremacy. 

It drew fierce backlash from civil rights advocates who argued that white supremacy is indistinguishable from white nationalism and white separatism. 

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White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' march in Charlottesville, Virginia during the 'Unite the Right' rally in August 2017. Facebook will now ban posts that contain themes related to white supremacism, white nationalism and white separatism

Now, Facebook is moving to ban all posts promoting these three ideologies from its platform. 

'Over the past three months our conversations with members of civil society and academics who are experts in race relations around the world have confirmed that white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups,' the firm wrote in a blog post. 

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Users who try to post content related to white supremacism, separatism or nationalism will be shown this type of message on Facebook

'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.' 

Highlighting the thorniness of policing extremist content, Facebook said implicit and coded white nationalism and white separatism will not be removed from the site immediately, as it's harder to detect and remove. 

Facebook said it will also rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence to remove white nationalist, separatist and supremacist content. 

The firm told Motherboard that it will use tactics like content-matching to remove images that have previously been flagged as hate material. 

Facebook moved to ban white nationalist and white separatist posts after about three dozen Facebook employees worked on the topic, including input from COO Sheryl Sandberg. 

Several civil rights advocacy groups praised Facebook's decision, including racial justice organization Color of Change. 

'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,' Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson said in a statement. 

'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.'

The Muslim Public Affairs Council called the decision a 'win against white supremacy' and said it has met with the firm, including Sandberg, to urge them to take a harder stance against all forms of hate speech on Facebook.

'Facebook’s official policy change is an important step for American Muslims and other marginalized communities affected by violence from white nationalists,' the organization said in a statement. 

'This step, while important, is just one step. There is still work to be done and we're committed to seeing this through.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6856881/Facebook-BANS-white-nationalism-white-separatism-platform.html 

NWN: Oi  veh !  Anyone who didn't see this coming should not be involved in nationalist politics. They are all monitored already, so this was the 'zionist globalists' next step.