San Francisco • Facebook is broadening its definition of hate speech to apply to “white nationalists” and “white separatists.”

The company previously allowed posts from those groups even though it has long banned "white supremacists."

In a blog post Wednesday, the social network said it previously linked expressions of white nationalism with broader concepts of nationalism and separatism — such as American pride or Basque separatism, both of which are still allowed.

But civil rights groups and academics called this view “misguided” and have long pressured the company to change its stance. Facebook says it concluded after months of “conversations” with them that white nationalism and separatism cannot be meaningfully separated from white supremacy and organized hate groups.