Meta against anti-Semitic misuse of the term Zionism

The claim “Christians are stupid” would be banned on Facebook. “Monarchists are stupid,” however, would be acceptable. The rules against hate speech only prohibit hate speech in relation to certain criteria; belonging to a certain religion is part of it, but belonging to a political worldview is not. Anti-Semites take advantage of this distinction: they package anti-Semitic hate speech into the actually political term Zionism. “Zionist” quickly becomes a code word for “Jew” or “Israeli.” Now Facebook operator Meta Platforms is trying to respond.

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From now on, attacks on “Zionists” should be removed, unless they explicitly refer to supporters of the political movement of Zionism, but instead use anti-Semitic stereotypes or contain threats. The data company worked on this announced on Tuesday. Particularly recorded material included dehumanizing comparisons to insects or garbage, calls for bodily harm or murder, laughing at terminally ill people, denying their existence, or falsely claiming that “Zionists” ruled the world or controlled the media.

Zionism can be divided into different types, such as cultural and political Zionism. The first strives for Jewish settlement in geographic Palestine, the second strives for an independent Jewish state or its preservation, but not necessarily in the mentioned territory. Such efforts have existed since the destruction of the first Jewish temple in Jerusalem in the sixth century BC and the expulsion of most of the Jews.

The term “Zionism” originated from the Viennese Nathan Birnbaum, who used the term from 1890. The term is derived from Zion, once a tower fortress on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which today has become synonymous with the Temple Mount, the city and the State of Israel. For believing Jews Zion also means the abode of God.

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Meta has long been dealing with difficult demarcations and this year discussed the topic with 145 interest groups from different continents. Since language is rarely precise, the new regulation also leaves unanswered questions in detail. For example, it may not be clear whether “Zionists” in online postings means the government or military of the State of Israel, or indeed all Zionists, or indeed all Jews (just like “Russians”, “Americans” or “Germans” yes. Often stands for the country’s leadership or armed forces, not necessarily for all citizens).

The purpose of the Oversight Board is to provide advice

Of course, this problem is not limited to “Zionists.” The oversight board appointed by Metas management has three members Relevant matters presented. In one case, in relation to an accusation of genocide, the thread platform implied that “all Israelis” were criminals. In another case, Facebook was accused of criminality against “Americans” and “Russians.” The third case came from Instagram, where someone posted: “All Indians are rapists.”

Decisions of the Oversight Board are still pending. This independent complaints council reviews selected disputes between the group and its users, but also advises on problems raised by management. However, Meta does not always follow the Oversight Board’s recommendations.

(DS)