Although Facebook has rightfully taken a lot of heat in recent years over its allowing disinformation to spread like wildfire across its social media platform, the company did a good thing this week by announcing it would crack down on Holocaust denial posts. The right to free speech in the United States means that awful people are allowed to say awful things and typically face no legal action as a result — although they often face repercussions of other kinds, such as losing jobs or facing the judgment of the public. Free speech is one of the basic tenets of American life — but that doesn’t mean you can’t face consequences for expressing it, and it should come as no surprise when business decisions are made that reflect a company’s unwillingness to be associated with something unpopular. We see it all the time.

Sites providing forums for sharing one’s opinion that reach vast audiences — such as Facebook — have a social responsibility.

Facebook has long been cited as one of the greatest super-spreaders of disinformation — intelligence agencies have long warned that one of Russia’s top targets for spreading false information has been the popular social network, and recently the Wall Street Journal reported that watchdog groups have noted the site has been frequently used to spread misinformation about COVID-19, from bogus cures to conspiracy theories.

According to a study released in August, groups and pages that spread misleading health-related news attracted 3.8 billion views on Facebook in the past year.

There’s a good chance that if you’ve stumbled upon an outrageous piece of disinformation, it was likely on social media — and possibly on Facebook.

So, it’s good to see Facebook cracking down on at least one especially egregious type of fake news — Holocaust denial posts.

This week, the social media giant said it was banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they are searching for information on the topic.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he has struggled with the challenge of defending free expression and the damage caused by denying the Holocaust. “My own thinking has evolved as I’ve seen data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence,” he said.

Facebook may have a long way to go in battling the scourge of disinformation that many say has run rampant on the social media site for years — but this week’s announcement is a good first step.

— NCD