Oversight board overturns Meta's decision on Holocaust denial post

Meta’s Oversight Board has overruled Meta’s original decision regarding an Instagram post that contained misleading claims about the Holocaust. The Board stated, “The content violated Meta’s Hate Speech Community Standard, which bans Holocaust denial.”

The case, identified as 2023-022-IG-UA, revolved around a meme posted on September 8, 2020, depicting the cartoon character Squidward from "SpongeBob SquarePants." The meme included claims that questioned the number of Holocaust victims and the existence of crematoria at Auschwitz, which the Board found to be an evident distortion of historical facts.

Following the policy change on October 12, 2020, Meta’s stance on Holocaust denial became more stringent. The Board noted, “Since the content was posted in September 2020, users reported it six times for violating Meta’s Hate Speech policy.” However, the content remained on the platform due to a combination of automated and human review processes and the impact of Meta’s COVID-19 automation policies.

Meta's moderation systems have failed

The Board’s analysis revealed that Meta's moderation systems failed to effectively identify and remove content that violated its policy against Holocaust denial. “The Board has questions about the effectiveness and accuracy of Meta’s moderation systems in removing Holocaust denial content from its platforms,” the report states.

In addressing the broader implications of such content, the Board emphasized, “It is important to understand Holocaust denial as an element of antisemitism, which is discriminatory in its consequences.”

The decision also stressed the need for Meta to enhance its moderation systems, with the Board recommending that Meta “take steps to ensure it is systematically measuring the accuracy of its enforcement of Holocaust denial content, at a more granular level.”

The Board’s decision to overturn Meta’s initial judgment underscores the ongoing challenges social media platforms face in balancing freedom of expression with the need to curb hate speech and misinformation. This ruling serves as a precedent in the ongoing effort to ensure social media platforms adhere to their community standards and broader human rights responsibilities.

The Oversight Board is an independent body that people can appeal to if they disagree with our decisions about content on Facebook or Instagram. 

Yfat Barak-Cheney, director of Technology and Human Rights at the World Jewish Congress, released the following statement on Tuesday, “The World Jewish Congress welcomes the decision of Meta’s Oversight Board to overturn the company’s original stance on an Instagram post containing false and misleading claims about the Holocaust. This decision, which aligns with the board’s stated commitment to combat hate speech, is a significant step toward acknowledging and addressing the concerning continued presence of Holocaust denial on Meta’s platforms.

“The Oversight Board’s findings on the ineffectiveness of Meta’s current moderation systems in identifying and removing Holocaust denial content is troubling,” Barak-Cheney said. 

“We strongly support the board’s recommendation for Meta to implement technical measures ensuring the systematic and accurate enforcement of its Holocaust denial policies. We call upon Meta to use this decision as a catalyst for change, adopting a more consistent and granular approach in monitoring and enforcing its hate speech policies.”