Jewish Mark Zuckerberg Defends Right of Holocaust Deniers to Post on Facebookc

Mark Zuckerberg Defends Right of Holocaust Deniers to Post on Facebook; Issues Statement to Clarify

By Derek Welch --
19 Jul 2018 --

Facebook will just move hate content down in the News Feed

In an interview with Recode, Mark Zuckerberg landed himself in hot water when he tried to elaborate on the reasons Holocaust deniers would not be barred[/tweetit] to publicize their point of view on the social networking site. His remarks predictably resulted in an online storm.

Mark Zuckerberg Defends Right of Holocaust Deniers to Post on Facebook; Issues Statement to Clarify[/tweetthis]

The interview with Kara Swisher itself was wide-ranging, with Zuckerberg conceding on multiple points. He told Swisher the kind of content which Facebook will remove from its valuable screen space, and noted that in some countries, distribution of hate speech could result in swift punitive action. The Facebook CEO had earlier defended the decision of the company to permit content from Infowars, a notorious conspiracy site, to be posted on Facebook.

Zuckerberg used the word “challenging” to describe matters related to censoring Facebook trolls. The chief of the most influential social media site in the world took matters further when he said he was Jewish and thus finds it extremely offensive when a few people deny the existence of the Holocaust. He then said that even after this personal revulsion, he does not think that Facebook should take it down as different people get many facts wrong. Zuckerberg then said that he does not think these people are intentionally at fault.

Nathan Fielder
– Knows holocaust happened, doesn't do business w/ deniers, donated massive amounts to holocaust awareness
– Graduated from one of Canada's top business schools with really good grades

Mark Zuckerberg
– Is cool with holocaust deniers
– Didn't graduate from college

— Cowboy Sean (@CaptainToney) July 18, 2018

Swisher interrupted the Facebook honcho at this point, expressing her opinion that Holocaust deniers fully comprehend the truth but choose to look away. Zuckerberg's response becomes somewhat muddled after this point. He said that it is difficult to check the validity of the intent and to comprehend it. He admitted that even his words come out wrong when he speaks in public and the same goes for other public personages too. Therefore, he concluded it is wrong to take people off Facebook, even if they get it wrong multiple times.

He can keep it as a safe space for racists and the insane, and normal people can shut down their accounts and leave. https://t.co/hyg8D0RDwl

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) July 18, 2018

According to Zuckerberg, Facebook would continue to host the offending content for its subscribers to see but would pull it down the News Feed so fewer people see it. The Facebook chief, later issued a follow-up statement, saying he finds Holocaust denial extremely offensive, and has no intention to defend people who do that. He then said Facebook will act if any post directly advocates hate or violence against a specific group. He said the best way to combat bad speech is to use good speech.