Meta officials say its users are employing the terms “Zionism” or “Zionist” to evade anti-Semitism standards on their platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
An official for the tech giant told the Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion that Meta has been removing content that uses alternative words or “code” words in place of “Jews”, as it classifies these terms as anti-Semitic and fails their online standards.
Meta’s director of content policy Benjamin Good appeared via video link from the US and explained how the tech giant handles anti-Semitic content and the growing trend of coded messaging.
Mr Good said Meta had been cracking down on anti-Semitic tropes such as claiming Jewish people controlled governments, the media, or financial institutions.
He said Meta had adapted their anti-Semitism policy from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism and in consultation with Jewish advocacy groups.
“Our policy prohibits claims that Jewish people control the governments of the world, or media, or financial institutions. That is a core component of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and we have adapted it from that,” he said.
“We prohibit that type of content, which is unique to anti-Semitism, because it is connected to these conspiracy theories that are and have historically had a closeness of violence against Jewish people. They’re dangerous.
“We conducted policy development about the use of the word ‘Zionist’ on our platforms.”
He said although “Zionist” traditionally refers to a political movement rather than a protected characteristic, expert consultation advised that users frequently deploy it online as a coded term to bypass hate speech filters and target Jewish people with harmful stereotypes.
Mr Good said the platform now prohibits anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that swap out the word “Jewish” for “Zionist” to evade enforcement.
“We did a lot of work engaging with groups with expertise in counter-terrorism and cultures around the world... and found that many people were using the word ‘Zionist’ as a coded term in content in order to evade our enforcement against claims that Jewish people have undue control,” he said.
“Instead of saying ‘Jewish people do’, they would say ‘Zionists do’.
“We determined that that was the intent, and therefore have prohibited claims such as ‘Zionist control the media’, ‘Zionist control the government’, and so forth.
“Those are harmful stereotypes about Jewish people, and ‘Zionist’ is usually used as a coded way to refer to Jewish people.”
Mr Good said when developing community standards and enforcement actions Meta always sought to collaborate with global experts.
The appearance by the major platforms comes after testimonies last week from law enforcement and online experts about the challenges to get tech platforms to act on curbing harmful content.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged all other online platforms to engage with the inquiry after it was revealed by the Commission that some apps, including X, have refused to cooperate.
This third block of the Royal Commission into anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion is currently examining how online platforms and traditional media fuel hate speech.
Public broadcasters ABC and SBS are scheduled to testify in Sydney later this week.
The inquiry will then shift to Melbourne on July 13 to investigate anti-Semitism on university campuses, followed by a Sydney session on July 20 focused on Jewish community security.
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