New York, NY, September 14, 2017 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was shocked to learn about a practice on Facebook that enabled advertisers to direct their pitches to the news feeds of individuals who had expressed interest in anti-Semitic ad categories such as "Jew haters," "How to burn Jews," or "History of 'Why Jews ruin the world."

Facebook removed the categories this week and said it was exploring ways to fix the problem. The categories were generated by an algorithm.

"It was shocking to read about this practice on Facebook, and we are glad Facebook ended it," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. "I will be calling Facebook as soon as possible for an explanation of what went on, and we will work with them to root out anti-Semitism and hate online."