Meta will delete content that uses the term ‘Zionist’ as a synonym for Jew in a dehumanizing sense

9 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, announced on Tuesday that it will delete content that uses the word ‘Zionist’ as a synonym for Jew or Israeli and that contains “dehumanizing comparisons, calls to harm or denials of their existence.”

“We will remove content that attacks ‘Zionists’ when it is not explicitly about the political movement, but rather the use of anti-Semitic stereotypes or when it threatens harm through intimidation or violence directed against Jews or Israelis under the pretext of attacking Zionists,” it said in a message.

The messages that will be deleted, according to Meta’s new policy, will involve “claims about ruling the world or controlling the media”; “dehumanizing comparisons, such as pigs, dirt, or parasites”; “physical harm”; “denial of one’s existence” or “mocking for having a disease.”

In this regard, it has indicated that its policy prohibits content that attacks people “based on protected characteristics, such as nationality, race or religion, among others”, although it allows criticism “of followers of political affiliations or ideologies”.

Meta has indicated that while there is no “global consensus” on the term “Zionist”, they have determined that this word is “often” used as a substitute to define Jews and Israelis, groups protected by their hate speech policy.