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Governor Phil Murphy

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Joint Statement from Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal Regarding Anti-Semitic Content on Facebook Group “Rise Up Ocean County”

01/3/2020

“In April 2019, the Director of our Division on Civil Rights, Rachel Wainer Apter, sent a letter to Facebook expressing concerns with a page on the company's social network entitled "Rise Up Ocean County." We had serious concerns with racist and anti-Semitic statements on the page, including an explicit goal of preventing Orthodox Jews from moving to Ocean County, and we made clear our view that the page appeared to violate Facebook's terms of service. We have continued to follow up with Facebook since that initial letter in April, and we renewed our concerns as recently as this week.

“We appreciate that Facebook has taken some steps to address anti-Semitic content on the page, but much more can be done, and we believe that Facebook must make lasting reforms to stop the spread of hate on the Internet. The Murphy Administration will continue to call out hate whenever and wherever we see it, and we will continue working to make New Jersey a safe and inclusive place for all of our residents.”