Facebook has also acknowledged it needs to be better and faster at finding and removing hate from its platforms, such as posts supporting the Christchurch attacks.
It says there will be people who try to game the system, but it's working to stay ahead of those people with new technologies.
READ MORE
• Facebook finally removes one NZ-based hate site, but leaves another
• Telcos want to stop site-blocking, but govt steps in
The company previously allowed white nationalism and white separatism, even though it has long banned white supremacists.
The social network says it previously linked white nationalism to broader concepts of nationalism and separatism — such as American pride or Basque separatism (which are still allowed).
But civil rights groups and academics called this view "misguided" and have long pressured the company to change its stance.
As part of the change, people who search for terms associated with white supremacy will be directed to a group called Life After Hate, which was founded by former extremists who want to help people leave the violent far-right.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the change is a welcome step, but seemed to hint that it wouldn't be enough.
"I also note that Australia is looking to bring in legislation that would impose penalties on social media companies if they do not restrain the spread of extremist material.
"Ireland, Germany, and others, have looked to put in measures to restrict the spread of harmful content, which reflects the broader international community's view that more needs to be done to resolve the problems we face, while maintaining a free, open, and secure internet."
For more on this story, click here
It comes as, nearly two weeks after the Christchurch shootings, Facebook has finally removed hate site Islam-free NZ.
However, a second Facebook page which uses a picture of a gunsight on the Beehive and features anti-immigrant tracts and a conspiracy theory suggesting police were complicit in the mosque massacres, remains online. Pictures from that group won't be published in the Herald.
A Facebook spokesperson has told the Herald the second page does not violate their policies.
For more on this story, click here
Several events set up to watch tomorrow's National Remembrance Service for the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack are being cancelled due to stretched police resources.
Events in places including Southland, Waikato and the Far North have been cancelled following advice from police.
The live broadcast of the National Remembrance Service being held in Hagley Park in Christchurch will start at 10am. It will screen live on nzherald.co.nz
Despite rural events being cancelled, large viewings will take place in Wellington, Auckland, and Hamilton.
To check if there's a viewing in your area, click here
Britain's Prince William is coming to New Zealand, to honour the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the Duke of Cambridge would visit New Zealand in late April.
Prince William would represent the Queen during the visit, Ardern said.
Further details of the dates and programme will be announced later.
There was no reference to whether Prince William's wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, or the couple's three children would accompany him on the visit.
For more on this story, click here
A historic pay equity settlement has had unintended consequences, with workers in women-dominated industries saying their hours have been cut or they have been bullied into working longer or harder.
The pros and cons of the $500 million-a-year settlement for traditionally low-paid, female industries were revealed in new research by the Auckland University of Technology's New Zealand Work Research Institute, published today.
The settlement came into force in July 2017.
Workers and many managers in aged residential care, home support, and disability services were initially thrilled with pay rises of between $3 and $7 an hour, but say problems are now cropping up.
In the worst cases, people in Government-funded service industries say they have been bullied into doing jobs they're not qualified for or ended up financially worse off because their bosses aren't funded enough to maintain their regular hours.
On the positive side, care workers said their quality of life had been transformed and they felt their role was being valued in society for the first time.
One woman said she went to the dentist for the first time in about six years. She bought her husband a pair of spectacles for his birthday, because they hadn't had glasses for about 15 years.
Managers backed the pay rises, saying their staff were finally getting what they worth. But they also said they were working within a limited budget, and that the pay hikes had created new cost pressures.
For more on this story, click here
ANZ's Business Outlook Survey for March shows the New Zealand economy is "quietly losing steam".
The bank says "headline" business confidence fell 7 points in the month and a net 38 per cent of respondents reported that they expected general business conditions to deteriorate in the year ahead.
ANZ chief economist, Sharon Zollner, says the New Zealand economy is currently delicately balanced.
She says GDP growth has moderated but is still respectable.
But leading indicators such as their ANZ Business Outlook survey and the ANZ Light Traffic Index suggest the New Zealand economy is running out of steam quite rapidly.
For more on this story, click here
A double-killer who savagely raped and murdered a young Christchurch woman 24 years after he first killed an ex-girlfriend in a chillingly similar case has today been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 28 years.
Paul Pounamu Tainui, aka Paul Russell Wilson, will be at least 83 before he can even be considered for a release from jail.
Wilson lay in wait for eight hours overnight before 27-year-old Nicole Marie Tuxford arrived back at her Merivale home in April last year. Wilson, a groomsman at David Bain's wedding, earlier pleaded guilty to the life coach's murder and rape.
Today, Wilson refused to look Nicole Tuxford's grieving loved ones as they read aloud emotional victim impact statements in a packed courtroom at the High Court in Christchurch.
For more on this story, click here
A major global study has found Great Barrier Island and four other New Zealand offshore havens could play a big role in helping save some of the world's most threatened species.
A team of international researchers found that wiping out invasive mammals on 107 islands around the planet would help protect 80 threatened species and help reach a United Nations goal to halt biodiversity loss.
Of nearly 170 islands identified by the study, 107 could have eradication projects launched by next year, and five of those were in New Zealand.
The islands were Great Barrier and Kawau islands in the Hauraki Gulf, Motukawanui Island in Northland, Slipper Island off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, and the subantarctic Auckland Island.
University of Auckland conservation biologist Dr James Russell says they already knew islands were crucial to conservation, but the study gives a bigger picture, and shows where the most progress could be made.
Russell says New Zealand is one of the most experienced countries in the world in island pest eradication and has lent expertise to a wide range of island projects from Mexico to the Pacific.
For more on this story, click here
That's the Front Page for today, Thursday, March 28, making sure you're across the biggest news of the day. For more on these stories, check out The New Zealand Herald, or tune in to Newstalk ZB.
You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts here, iHeartRadio here, and Stitcher here.
If you like to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.
