Twitter’s tightening of rules on hate speech is ‘a step in the right direction’
British Jewish leader commends the social media giant for its 'toughening stance on extremism and hatred'
Twitter has tightened its rules on hate-speech to include personal profile information as well as hateful imagery such as swastikas.
The social media giant’s “toughening stance on extremism and hatred” were welcomed this week by Jewish representatives, with Board of Deputies’ vice-president Marie van der Zyl saying it was “very much a step in the right direction”.
She added: “Social media presents many emerging opportunities, but many emerging challenges as well. Twitter and other social media companies must be continually mindful about making their platforms safe as they evolve.”
Information contained in a person’s profile, regardless of what they actually tweet, will now be considered, while those who link to groups that use or celebrate violence will be banned, Twitter said.
The changes will “reduce the amount of abusive behaviour and hateful conduct” on Twitter, a spokeswoman said, confirming that profiles would be removed.
“If an account’s profile information includes a violent threat or multiple slurs, epithets, racist or sexist tropes, incites fear, or reduces someone to less than human, it will be permanently suspended,” she said. “We plan to develop internal tools to help us identify violating accounts to supplement user reports.”
The company said hateful imagery could include “logos, symbols or images whose purpose is to promote hostility and malice against others based on their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity/national origin”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
