In what The Verge is calling a “dramatic shift in policy,” Facebook has decided to ban all white nationalist and separatist content. The social media platform announced the move today, less than two weeks after 50 people were murdered by a white supremacist in New Zealand. Facebook’s policy will officially take effect next week, banning any posts that contain “praise, support, and representation of white nationalism and separatism.” In a blog post, the company added, “It’s clear that these concepts are deeply linked to organized hate groups and have no place on our services.” As noted by The Verge, white supremacist content has been banned from Facebook for some time, but the new policy notably includes posts that support white nationalist and separatist content–for example, statements such as “Immigration is tearing this country apart; white separatism is the only answer.”
There’s another component to the new policy, which is somewhat baller:
Under the new policy, anyone searching for racist content or phrases like “Heil Hitler” will be directed to the Life After Hate organization which provides services for former white supremacists and extremists like educational resources, support groups, and crisis intervention.
Your move, Twitter.