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Elizabeth Bratton writes about a recent study that has found Holocaust denial content to be widely available online. Although Facebook has recently agreed to ban some forms of antisemitism, Mark Zuckerberg's company failed to explicitly address conspiracy theories about the Holocaust. This article explains Facebook's "snowball method", discusses its response to criticsim, and provides statistics on the prevalence of such material. Learn more about Facebook's controversial stance on freedom of speech, and hate speech.
An investigation by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue has found that typing "Holocaust" into the Facebook search bar produces pages dedicated to antisemitic conspiracy theories. Users are directed to literature written by Holocaust-deniers, including texts by David Irving. On Wednesday the 12th of August, Facebook pledged to to remove antisemitic claims that Jewish people "[controlled] the world". However, the social media giant has refused to categorise Holocaust denial as a form of hate speech.
The ISD also identified at least 36 Facebook groups dedicated to sharing Holocaust denial posts; collectively, they have over 366,000 followers. Researchers discovered that, when they followed such pages, similar groups were recommended to them. Jacob Davey, senior researcher at the ISD, suggested Facebook's refusal to delete such content is "framed under the guise of protecting legitimate historical debate". Davey elaborates, "Denial of the Holocaust is a deliberate tool used to delegitimise the suffering of the Jewish people and perpetuate long-standing antisemitic tropes."
Some are describing Facebook's algorithm as a "snowball method", which provides users with content tailored to their interests. The findings are seemingly a product of the company's intricate data-collecting programmes, which have drawn especial criticism in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Over recent years, more information about these "social profiling" techniques have emerged, while questions have arisen over misinformation and political interference. Mark Zuckerberg has previously refused to censor some content, despite evidence that its algorithms "exploit the human brain's attraction to divisiveness."
A Facebook spokesperson responded: "We take down any post that celebrates, defends, or attempts to justify the Holocaust. The same goes for any content that mocks Holocaust victims, accuses victims of lying, spews hate, or advocates for violence against Jewish people in any way." They proceeded to explain that Holocaust denial is prohibited for users in Germany, France, and Poland, as to be in accordance with the law. The spokesperson argued the company is trying to "[strike] the right balance between keeping people safe and allowing free speech". They noted, "many people strongly disagree with our position."
The spokesperson also clarified that Facebook "[does] not take down content simply for being untruthful." Although "many" posts about the Holocaust do breach Facebook's policies, the unfounded denial of 6 million murders remains permissible in many circumstances.
Zuckerberg, who is Jewish himself, has previously spoken about the challenges faced when confronting antisemitism online. In a 2018 interview, he said: I'm Jewish, and there's a set of people who deny that the Holocaust happened. I find that deeply offensive. But at the end of the day, I don't believe that our platform should take that down because I think there are things that different people get wrong."
Other social media platforms are far from in the clear. Researchers found Holocaust denial content to be available on sites such as Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter. Such posts are often associated with the term "holohoax". At least 2,300 "holohoax" posts were identified on Reddit, 9,500 videos were found on YouTube, and 19,000 Tweets were visible. This material had all been published within the past two years.
On Reddit, for example, some users attempted to "debunk" the Holocaust. As supposed proof, they pointed to the emigration of "a few Jewish intellectuals" to the USA, and promoted the "cultural Marxism" conspiracy theory. It suggests that Jews, who had fled the Nazi regime and sought safety in the USA, encouraged "degeneracy" to undermine Western capitalist principles and culture. The study showed Reddit to have taken some limited measures against antisemitism. For example, within a randomised sample of 50 "holohoax" posts, 4 were in private or banned channels, 17 were deleted, and 14 received criticism from other users. However, 12 posts received more support than disapproval from other Redditers.
A large proportion of such antisemitic content is "couched" in codes and tropes, meaning it often goes under the radar. Therefore, the ISD's findings are likely to be under-representative of the amount of antisemitism online.
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