Latin American retail giant purges site of antisemitic content

Latin America’s largest online retailer purged its website of Nazi, far-right and other anti-Semitic merchandise this year following a campaign by the World Jewish Congress.

Mercado Libre (“free market” in Spanish), founded by a Jewish-Argentinian businessman Marcos Galperin, has a larger user pool than Amazon in Latin America.

Last year, the retail giant announced that it would clean its catalogue of books such as Adolph Hitler's “Mein Kampf” and infamous anti-Semitic fabrication “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” as well as Nazi regalia and memorabilia. Earlier in the week, it announced that the number of such items available for sale was down by 89 percent compared to the year before.

“Viewing with concern the growth of hate speech and violence, and the lack of action by some companies, this joint effort is an example that we can work with internet companies that have the will,” Ariel Seidler, program director for the Latin American Jewish Congress, was quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) as saying. “They play a key role in our societies and must assume their responsibility to build plural societies, with coexistence and diversity.”