Meta Anti-LGBTQ Hate Speech Policies Stripped by Zuckerberg

Anti-LGBTQ Hate Speech Policies Stripped From Meta by Zuckerberg

In anticipation of the upcoming political administration, Meta is kissing ass as directed by Mark Zuckerberg and doing away with some checks and balances, directly affecting the LGBTQ community. Want to share some fact facts? Want to call a gay man the "f-word?" Want to direct some hate speech toward the LGBTQ community? Go ahead! It's all green-lit now on Meta platforms and is already in action. Meta's Hateful Conduct Policy no longer includes safeguards for the queer community, people of color, immigrants, women, and other minority groups. It is all fair game under the platform's revisions. If you are an avid user of Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, you will be fair game for online trolling.

GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, issued the following statement: "Zuckerberg’s removal of fact-checking programs and industry-standard hate speech policies make Meta’s platforms unsafe places for users and advertisers alike. Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives. With these changes, Meta is continuing to normalize anti-LGBTQ hatred for profit — at the expense of its users and true freedom of expression. Fact-checking and hate speech policies protect free speech."

Zuckerberg defended the fact-check and hate speech protection rollbacks as honoring the free speech movement and "getting back to our roots."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

What is allowed is alarming: “Insulting language in the context of discussing political or religious topics, such as when discussing transgender rights, immigration, or homosexuality” and “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism [sic] and homosexuality." Insults and slurs are now totally ok. Also, transgender and non-binary folks can now be referred to as "it."

It is no secret that Zuckerberg and Meta will be part of developing the nation's tech policy under the Trump administration. Meta is also moving its content review team to conservative Texas. Meta first formalized its hate speech policy in 2018 but, according to GLAAD's 2024 Social Media Safety Index, ranked extremely low in mitigating dangerous anti-LGBTQ hate and disinformation.

It will be interesting to see how these changes will change algorithms on the Meta platforms. Will queer content be shadowbanned? Will we lose our voice? What's the alternative? Also, how will this affect the gay adult community? Will we see more or less restrictions on what is considered adult content?

Will you still be using Meta?

Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.