Facebook bans Holocaust deniers

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Facebook has announced it has started banning any posts that distort or denies the realities of the Holocaust.

In addition, the social network will start directing people to legitimate sources of information about the Nazi genocide.

According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the new policy, which he announced on Monday, is the company’s latest move to address a wave of global misinformation.

It comes after a push from Holocaust survivors around the world who urged Zuckerberg to take action on posts denying the genocide.

The #NoDenyingIt campaign, by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, used Facebook to reach Zuckerberg and request action on the issue.

Numerous companies are urging the social network to take action on misinformation as well as hate speech on the platform.

Announcing the new policy, Facebook said it is “supported by the well-documented rise in anti-Semitism globally and the alarming level of ignorance about the Holocaust, especially among young people”.

“I’ve struggled with the tension between standing for free expression and the harm caused by minimizing or denying the horror of the Holocaust,” Zuckerberg wrote earlier this week. “My own thinking has evolved as I’ve seen data showing an increase in anti-Semitic violence, as have our wider policies on hate speech.”

Zoom launches events platform

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After experiencing a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, video conferencing app Zoom has announced a new events platform as well as a marketplace.

The events platform, called OnZoom, is launching in beta mode in the US, with live events in a range of areas, including fitness, music and arts.

Users can sell tickets for up to 1,000 attendees per event.

Google to shut down Hangouts

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Google is in the process of shutting down the Hangouts app and replacing it with Google Chat.

In a blog post on Thursday, the company said the move was originally planned in 2019.

“Starting in the first half of 2021, everyone can begin upgrading from Hangouts to Chat,” the company said in the post.

“To ensure a smooth transition, we will help automatically migrate your Hangouts conversations, along with contacts and saved history.”

Google has not yet announced the exact timing for the transition to be completed.