Facebook Bans Pro-White Groups, Discussions

28 March, 2019

Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will begin banning "praise, support and representation of white nationalism and separatism" on both Facebook and Instagram.

The company had already been blocking users from sharing messages which glorify white supremacy - while civil rights advocates have long argued that white nationalism and white separatism are the same thing.

Facebook claimed in a Wednesday blog post that "people will still be able to demonstrate pride in their ethnic heritage," they will "not tolerate praise or support for white nationalism or separatism."

[O]ver 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. Our own review of hate figures and organizations – as defined by our Dangerous Individuals & Organizations policy – further revealed the overlap between white nationalism and separatism and white supremacy. 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. -Facebook

In May of last year, internal training materials leaked to Motherboard revealed that Facebook treated the terms differently - allowing the "praise, support and representation" of white nationalism and white separatism "as an ideology," according to the Washington Post.

Civil rights groups applauded the move. “There is no defensible distinction that can be drawn between white supremacy, white nationalism or white separatism in society today,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said Wednesday in a statement.

The organization had pushed Facebook for months to change its policies, pointing to pages such as “It’s okay to be white,” which has more than 18,000 followers and has regularly defended white nationalism. Another, called “American White History Month 2,” often posted white-supremacist memes, according to the Lawyers’ Committee. A cached version of the page from late February showed it had more than 258,000 followers before it went offline. -WaPo

Facebook's move has some wondering where exactly they draw the lines, and whether they plan to do anything about non-white race-based supremacy groups.