Very recently, Facebook Inc. has come under scrutiny for allowing certain hate groups against the Jewish community to stay online, while blocking other hate groups that target other minority communities. Within Facebook’s public, community standards, the company explicitly prohibits the “attack of others based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or medical condition.” These are standards that Facebook has set for its users, so it is natural that they should live up to the same guidelines, and focus on removing hateful, anti-Semitic groups. As part of the effort to urge Facebook to disable the hateful groups, a group called “Remove Hate From FB” has called for an “offline” protest at on October 14th at Facebook’s headquarters. Similar cases have been brought to the forefront before. In a Brandeis Blog piece published a few months ago, Andre Oboler, a social media and online public diplomacy expert pointed to the bigger issue at hand. He explained that the problem of removing anti-Semitic messages “goes far higher” than just the “front line staff and that Facebook “has a reluctance to learn from experts and to recognize additional manifestations of anti-Semitism.” Although Facebook is a private company , it has approximately 150 million monthly active users, which shows the importance and relevance of the social media platform. Cases and news like this raise the more encompassing issue of the way people view and use social media to spread hateful, negative messages. The young generation, who has grown up with Facebook, Twitter, and various other social media platforms—literally at their fingertips –can enjoy the anonymity that comes with posting any positive and negative sentiment. In some cases, the consequences can be positive, but in cases such as this one, stereotypes are generated and reinforced. Because of the vast use of social media, children are also exposed to anti-Semitic and other hateful statements at a young age, which influences the way they shape their perceptions. The problem of anti-Semitic groups on Facebook has much deeper implications than having discrimination against certain minorities over another. Facebook and other social media outlets have the power to influence how current and future generations view the world. Using social media as a platform to promote positive agenda should be Facebook’s focus, and removing the anti-Semitic groups is the first step in this process. UPDATE: The Online Hate Prevention Institute (OHPI) recently released images along with a short video video explaining the role social media plays on online hate. The full report, titled “Recognizing Hate Speech: Antisemitism on Facebook” explores the ways that Facebook has been inconsistent with its removal of images and text that promote anti-Semitism. This report is an indication of how much influence postings on social media can have, and that issues such as these should not be taken lightly. Facebook