Meta, Parent Company of Facebook and Instagram, to Remove More Posts Including the Word ‘Zionist’

“Given the growing polarization of public discourse due to events in the Middle East,” the group announced a change in its moderation policy, arguing that the word “Zionist” does not have exclusively political meaning, but can also be used to spread messages of hate.

Meta Group, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced a tightening of its restrictions on the use of the term “Zionist” on its networks. Meta will now remove posts that include the word “Zionist” when it refers to Jewish or Israeli people and contains dehumanizing speech or anti-Semitic stereotypes.

“We will now remove posts targeting ‘Zionists’ in several areas where our investigation has shown the term tends to be used to refer to Jews and Israelis, with dehumanizing comparisons, calls to harm, or denials of existence.”the Californian group said in a statement published Tuesday, April 9. In other words, it is not a total ban on the use of the word “Zionist” on Facebook or Instagram, but its use in certain cases only.

The social media giant had launched a discussion on the moderation of this term on its platforms five months ago, “given the increasing polarization of public discourse due to events in the Middle East”specifies Mark Zuckerberg’s group. Work was therefore carried out with the help of several experts such as historians, lawyers and associations, to determine whether the term “Zionist” refers to supporters of a political movement or the Jewish or Israeli people. Because if Meta’s rules authorize general attacks against party members, it nevertheless prohibits those addressed against groups of people defined by their nationality or religion, explains Agence France Presse.

Meta admits to having come to the conclusion that“There is no general consensus on what people mean when they use the term ‘Zionist'”but “Based on our research and investigations across platforms regarding its use to refer to Jewish people and Israelis in connection with certain types of hateful attacks, we will now remove content that targets ‘Zionists'” with hate speech, the group assumes.

Meta cites the example of“claims that they rule the world or control the media”THE “dehumanizing comparisons, such as comparisons to pigs, filth or vermin” and “calls for physical violence.” Until now, its moderators only removed messages comparing Zionists to animals or when Jews or Israelis were clearly targeted.

The World Jewish Congress, a federation of Jewish communities and organizations throughout the world, considers that “This Policy change will help create a safer and more respectful online environment for all” and expresses the wish “that all other platforms will follow Meta’s leadership and take similar steps.”

In France, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) welcomed “This decision by Meta sends a strong message to those who believed they were deceiving moderation by using the hat of anti-Zionism to express their anti-Semitism”. The CRIF recalls that“A few months ago, the CRIF and the interlocutors at Meta in charge of deciding the rules for using the platform met to discuss the use of the word ‘Zionist’. Indeed, this word is often used by anti-Semites to escape moderation… if ‘Zionist’ were replaced by ‘Jew’, then the content would be immediately moderated, and this ‘trick’ has allowed anti-Semites to express their hatred of Jews for many years.”

For its part, Amnesty International called on Meta last February not to “ban criticism of ‘Zionism’ or ‘Zionists’ in general”not to “stifle voices that speak out against the Israeli government’s systematic violations of Palestinian rights,” thus highlighting the risk of an attack on freedom of expression. On social networks, many Internet users have already denounced this measure, some evoking a “censorship”, others calling for a “definitive boycott of Facebook.”