In the wake of Meta's announcement that it would eliminate fact-checkers and reduce restrictions on numerous topics, including immigration and gender, neo-Nazis, white-supremacists, and extremists across the Internet responded in ways that reflected their antisemitism and distrust. These reactions have included posts criticizing Zuckerberg and Jews in general for propping up censorship in the first place; distrust of Zuckerberg's intentions in making these changes, and questioning the authenticity of the revisions themselves. Other reactions have interpreted the announcement as an admission of guilt: that Meta intentionally and disproportionately censored conservatives. Some called for Zuckerberg to face punishment for this, including receiving the death penalty.
Some extremists view this as an opportunity to return to Facebook and Instagram, seeking to "radicalize the normies."
This report will analyze the varied reactions of extremists in response to Meta's decision to modify and reduce its content moderation policies and eliminate fact-checking on its platforms.
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Extremists Post Antisemitic And Disparaging Responses Showing Their Distrust Of Zuckerberg And META’s Policy Changes
On January 7, 2025, in a French neo-Nazi group on Gab, a neo-Nazi posted a link to the neo-Nazi group's article titled: "In a video, the Jew Zuckerberg says he will stop his censorship of the goyim." The poster wrote: "THE JEWISH LIE OF THE DAY. Zuckerberg senses the wind of change, and as is often the case with Jews, he runs with all guns blazing into the opposing camp. As a result, [there will be] no more censorship against the Republican Party and Trump supporters. In exchange, Zuckerberg wants full support from the White House against the EU's tax plans against his company, Meta. The EU wants to tax them excessively under the pretext of spreading 'fake news' [...] In the end, this is good news because it means that the Western left is collapsing everywhere. The pro-transsexual terror has been the straw breaking the camel's back. People do not want to be sexually assaulted by degenerates, it's as simple as that [...] The European left, of which the EU is the armed wing, is already panicking at the idea. Without censorship, it will sink [...]"
Extremists View Changes As Admission to Censorship, Want Retribution Against Zuckerberg
After Meta's announcement, an antisemitic COVID denier on Gab posted an image of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, with the text: "This is not a hero or a patriot this is a traitor that got caught." The user's added caption said, "Gallows for traitors." The user believes that Zuckerberg's decision to end fact-checking is equivalent to an admission of guilt that Meta was intentionally censoring certain users and therefore guilty of treason, punishable by death.
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