Meta faces scrutiny as Facebook algorithm amplifies Holocaust hate
Meta is facing renewed scrutiny over its handling of online antisemitism just days before company representatives are due to appear before the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
The issue comes as Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, along with other technology companies, prepares to give evidence when public hearings resume in Sydney from 29 June to 10 July. The Commission is examining antisemitism, its causes and its impact in Australia, including the role of online platforms.
Meta Headquarters sign (photo: Wikimedia)
Facebook ranking under scrutiny
According to an investigation by Yahoo News Australia, Facebook’s ranking system gave prominence to antisemitic comments beneath a Holocaust remembrance post, labelling some as among the platform’s “most relevant” responses and pushing them towards the top of the discussion.
Close to 3,000 comments accumulated between April and June under a post published by the Israeli Embassy in Ghana marking Yom HaShoah and the murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust.
The comments included Holocaust denial, praise for Hitler and calls for more Jews to be killed. The concern is not only that the material remained online, but also that Facebook’s own systems helped lift antisemitic abuse under a post intended to honour Holocaust victims.
Meta said it began removing comments after the problem was raised. The company said its rules prohibit attacks on people because of religion or ethnicity, including dehumanising language, harmful stereotypes and calls for violence, but conceded its systems do not catch everything.
Reports of online antisemitism rise
The Online Hate Prevention Institute, whose CEO Dr Andre Oboler has already given evidence to the Commission about antisemitism across social media, including Facebook and Instagram, has reported a sharp rise in antisemitic content from November 2023 across the platforms it analysed.
The latest case follows years of criticism over Meta’s handling of antisemitic material. In January 2024, the Oversight Board overturned the company’s decision to leave up an Instagram post containing false and distorted claims about the Holocaust, finding it breached Meta’s rule against Holocaust denial.
In July 2024, Meta said it would remove posts using the term “Zionist” when it was paired with antisemitic tropes, dehumanising language or other rhetoric covered by its hate speech rules.
The change followed what Meta described as a months-long review of how the term had been used historically and how it was appearing across social media, particularly during the war in Gaza.
Criticism over enforcement
In 2020, The Guardian reported that Facebook’s recommendation systems had directed users towards Holocaust denial content. Later that year, Facebook changed its global policy and banned Holocaust denial and distortion.
Meta has indicated it is investing in detection technology and human review. Jewish community leaders say the real test is whether antisemitic abuse is removed before it is amplified.
OHPI has said Facebook’s earlier approach treated Holocaust denial as factually wrong rather than prohibited hate speech. Drawing on years of monitoring and research, the organisation argued that this allowed antisemitic and white supremacist networks to grow online before the 2020 policy reversal.
OHPI has also criticised Facebook’s handling of pages promoting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the antisemitic forgery long used to spread conspiracy theories about Jews. The organisation has also said Instagram required greater attention from hate speech monitors after examples of antisemitism, racism and other abuse were identified on the platform.
In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League reported in 2025 that Jewish members of Congress had experienced a nearly fivefold increase in antisemitic harassment on Facebook after Meta changed its content moderation policies.
ECAJ asks community to report online hate
Last Friday, ECAJ launched a campaign urging members of the Jewish community to report antisemitic material found online, as it begins working more closely with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to identify and address anti-Jewish hate.
ECAJ said people should send posts, comments, videos, memes, accounts, hashtags or trends that appear antisemitic to [email protected], including screenshots, links and relevant details. It said reporting abuse only to a platform can mean the community loses valuable evidence needed to track patterns, engage technology companies and governments, support inquiries and push for stronger action.
ECAJ said content should also be reported to the platform itself and, where appropriate, to the eSafety Commissioner. It said it is working with the Dor Foundation to help ensure Meta responds properly.
