Luján, Heinrich, Rosen Press Meta on Dramatic Rise in Antisemitism on Their Social Media Platforms and Artificial Intelligence Models

Washington, D.C.– Today, U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Meta’s failure to address antisemitic content on its platforms and potentially promote antisemitism through its artificial intelligence models. Specifically, the senators highlight how a rise in antisemitic content can be linked to the recent changes in community standards and content moderation practices, which were announced by Meta in January. Additionally in the letter, the senators press Meta to disclose its policies and procedures to address antisemitism on their platforms and combat hate speech.
“In recent months, there has been a nearly fivefold increase in antisemitic behavior on Meta’s platforms. The rise in antisemitic content has been linked to the recent changes in community standards and content moderation practices, which were announced by Meta in January,”wrote the senators.
“We are deeply concerned about the increase of hate speech and antisemitic content on Meta’s platforms. Platforming antisemitic speech normalizes it and breeds further hateful speech. Additionally, online hateful conduct can and often leads to real-world violence,”continued the senators.
“Meta has an outsized role in its ability to combat antisemitism and we encourage Meta to consider how its policies and practices can be a force to unite communities and foster understanding rather than promote hate speech,”concluded the senators.
The full text of the letter is availablehereand below.
Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,
We write regarding the drastic rise of antisemitic content on Meta’s platforms and its artificial intelligence models. Before Congress, representatives of Meta, including yourself, have asserted Meta’s responsibility in ensuring its platforms are not used to “hurt others.” During a joint session of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees, you stated “It’s not enough to just give people a voice, we have to make sure people aren’t using it to hurt people.” When Neil Potts, Meta’s current Vice President of Content Policy, testified to Congress in 2022 on antisemitism, he said: “We also recognize that bad actors may seek to use our platform in unacceptable ways, and we take our responsibility to stop them seriously as we give people a voice. We want to ensure that they are not using that voice to hurt others.”
In recent months, there has been a nearly fivefold increase in antisemitic behavior on Meta’s platforms. The rise in antisemitic content has been linked to the recent changes in community standards and content moderation practices, which were announced by Meta in January. This change in policies stands in conflict with the assurances you and others representing Meta made to Congress: that it was Meta’s responsibility to ensure its platforms are not weaponized.
We are deeply concerned about the increase of hate speech and antisemitic content on Meta’s platforms. Platforming antisemitic speech normalizes it and breeds further hateful speech. Additionally, online hateful conduct can and often leads to real-world violence. Finally, allowing antisemitic content remaining on Meta’s platforms while using that same content to train Meta’s AI models could lead to Meta’s AI models reproducing antisemitic hate speech and promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.
With these issues in mind, we request written responses to the following questions by January 7, 2025:
We remain deeply concerned with Meta’s failure to address antisemitic content on its platforms and potentially promote antisemitism through its AI models. Meta has an outsized role in its ability to combat antisemitism and we encourage Meta to consider how its policies and practices can be a force to unite communities and foster understanding rather than promote hate speech.
Sincerely,
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