this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2025
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Meta announced a series of major updates to its content moderation policies today, including ending its fact-checking partnerships and “getting rid” of restrictions on speech about “topics like immigration, gender identity and gender” that the company describes as frequent subjects of political discourse and debate. “It’s not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms,” Meta’s newly appointed chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, wrote in a blog post outlining the changes.

In an accompanying video, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s current rules in these areas as “just out of touch with mainstream discourse.”

In tandem with this announcement, the company made a number of updates across its Community Guidelines, an extensive set of rules that outline what kinds of content are prohibited on Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, Threads, and Facebook. Some of the most striking changes were made to Meta’s “Hateful Conduct” policy, which covers discussions on immigration and gender.

In a notable shift, the company now says it allows “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird.’”

In other words, Meta now appears to permit users to accuse transgender or gay people of being mentally ill because of their gender expression and sexual orientation. The company did not respond to requests for clarification on the policy.

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[–] lolola@lemmy.blahaj.zone 125 points 3 weeks ago (9 children)

I'm trans. I do have mental illness. It's because society keeps sending me signals that I shouldn't exist.

[–] GoosLife@lemmy.world 25 points 3 weeks ago

For what it's worth, I am hereby sending you the official signal that you should absolutely exist, that you have every right to be yourself, and that your continued existence is important and meaningful for yourself and others in similar situations especially. I hope you will forever be gifted with the courage to be yourself, even when the world is challenging you on it.

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

It's the village, not the individuals. Our society is fucking sick. I'm straight, but it (the intolerance and violence towards people who are different) makes me sick.

[–] kipo@lemm.ee 6 points 3 weeks ago

This person gets it.

Thank you.

[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You listen to society? They're the ones that invented gender characteristics and stereotypes. If you listen to them there's a chance you'll get caught up in their bullshit instead of just being what you'd be if there was no other human on earth.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 26 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Kind of hard not to listen to society when you're a part of it. It's like saying to try to not listen to the music while you're at a nightclub.

[–] dojan@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'd like out of this nightclub. Maybe move to a different, more pleasant nightclub.

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[–] usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml 62 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Reminder to get off Facebook and Instagram

This isn't the first time they've pulled stuff like this nor will it be the last

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Meta went all in on the VR Metaverse to woo the next generation and just shot themselves in the foot.

shame

[–] randon31415@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

VR Metaverse would have worked if they let people have legs.

Meta would not have liked WHY it would have worked, however....

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[–] Squorlple@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Businesses need to bring back email newsletters. And whatever celebrities or whatnot you care about need to too. The only reason I signed back up for either of those sites was to follow a local business for updates/sales/etc.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Reminder to get off Facebook and Instagram

Most of us are already out or lurking because of family or some specific group they can't do without.

The trick will be getting those people off the platform so we can cut all cords.

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[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Facebook has about 3 billion users across the globe. That's just 500 million short of half the human population of the planet. At its height Twitter was around 360 million. And it's user base has only shrunk by 30 million or so since the douche bag took it over.

Facebook, on the other hand, has dug its hooks into everyone's personal lives to a point at which getting them to ditch Facebook would be like telling everyone to basically ditch their friends and family. No one is going to do that.

Twitter was an add-on. It was an extra. You could use it or not, nobody cared. It hadn't built a large enough user base to be so integral to people's social lives. TikTok, in about half the time twitter has existed, has basically eclipsed it in terms of monthly active users.

We have to accept this fact, Facebook has become an institution. And it should scare literally everyone that such a huge and powerful platform is owned by one single person with no real oversight whatsoever. That is why he was able to unilaterally decide to first censor Facebook at the beginning of the election and now uncensor it once an oligarch friendly president has been elected.

Everyone's so focused on DElon Husk's role in getting Trump elected, but all Zuckerberg needed to do was shut down the discourse on his platform so that the news couldn't flow. And now he's adopting the policies of Xwitter in an effort to win some favoritism from the incoming administration.

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 44 points 3 weeks ago
[–] Zess@lemmy.world 41 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Religion is a mental illness.

[–] GoTime@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago

Preach! But you know, not really.

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[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 37 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Let’s be honest, they already allow rampant, dangerous misinformation, bullying, and hate speech. They’re just being a little more honest about it, now.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The mask has slipped because they know they can get away with it.

After all,this isn't anything forced on Meta, they are taking advantage of the incoming president being all for this and binning policies they clearly only follower reluctantly (and poorly).

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[–] squid_slime@lemm.ee 36 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Fucking insanity, right wing popularism here we come.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

U.S. Defamation law:

To prove prima facie defamation, a plaintiff must show four things: 1) a false statement purporting to be fact; 2) publication or communication of that statement to a third person; 3) fault amounting to at least negligence; and 4) damages, or some harm caused to the reputation of the person or entity who is the subject of the statement.

  1. false statement. ✔️
  2. publication ✔️
  3. negligence proven by not understanding why it was banned from communications just recently on their platform ✔️
  4. harm to the reputation of a person. (If 1 person believes or republished that information they have fulfilled 4 categories.)

I'd say your freedom of speech does not cover that at all because there was intent to harm others.

[–] Glasgow@lemmy.ml 33 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] nifty@lemmy.world 32 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

People need to stop using Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads, and Instagram.

[–] GrymEdm@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I wrote my deletion post just a few hours ago actually. Cited sexism, homophobia, anti-immigration, no more fact-checking etc. I said I'd leave the account up for a few days in case anyone wanted to arrange a way to stay in contact (since I've had friends there since 2007), but after that I'm gone.

[–] nifty@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Cite this article before you go.

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[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

They won't.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 4 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Facebook, Instagram and Threads are easy, I was never on Threads and largely used the others for following people and groups rather than actively posting.

WhatsApp is the tricky one as all my friends and family are on there and it is pretty important. I could get some people to move to Matrix but not everyone. Luckily, it's the one that is the most difficult to enshittify. Still...

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[–] LadyAutumn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

The whole of American society is slowly shifting towards widespread acceptance of violence against queer people. Any notion that our society or culture has progressed in any way is fake. It's empty. The post Stonewall era of perceived progress is over. For many queer people, the approach of January 20th is a shadow encroaching on the light of lives we hoped to live. Fear is becoming very commonplace in our communities. There's no mistaking what the people in power plan to do to us. And every day, widespread society shows more and more that that's fine. Any debate that we deserve rights is over. We are a problem for those in power to choose how to get rid of. Our lives are completely at the whims of the state, a state now being handed over to a group of people who delight in our suffering. Who delight in the suffering of children.

I fully expect states like Florida to criminalize being queer as soon as Trump takes office. They will start to raid night clubs and arrest trans people under crossdressing laws and gay people under sodomy laws. Just like they did in the 60s. We will be forced into hiding. We will grow up never understanding who we are or that its okay for people like us to exist. A whole generation of queer children will die because of laws like this. Nothing has changed.

[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Shoot 'em. The cops, I mean.

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[–] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 27 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

Soon the Metaverse will resemble a classic CoD lobby.

[–] dojan@lemmy.world 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Does the metaverse even exist? Like is it a thing people use?

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This video is from last year and I doubt anything's changed. It's pretty funny if you haven't seen it

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[–] SS2k_2003@lemmy.world 17 points 3 weeks ago

They already allowed it on Facebook, they just pretended they didn't while that kind of speech thrived on Facebook.

[–] Deceptichum@quokk.au 17 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (3 children)

So will the EU call him up to explain or do nothing?

Dude does realise he operates outside of the US theatre as well, yeah? And his shitty site was already drawing heat from many governments.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That's where things get even more worrying.

As it stands, he still has to abide by EU and British laws but then there's this:

That suggests that social media laws could be part of the negotiation with other countries who don't want to get wrecked by tariffs.

As weakening those laws will lead to an increase in unchallenged far right posts, they could have knock on effects in elections. Trump will have seen how effective the changes at Xitter were for him, so spreading that to other social media platforms is already a win for him but being able to impact the political landscape elsewhere would be a bonus - France and German are having problems fending off the far right and if they gained control they'd be a lot more compliant to his demands which has knock-on effects for the EU and NATO.

[–] Mubelotix@jlai.lu 5 points 3 weeks ago

The far right hates america more than you can imagine. They would be more likely to leave NATO than talking to the USA

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[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 15 points 3 weeks ago

It feels like the statements about the removal of fact-checking (which is all I heard about on the news) is misdirection, so the changes made deep in their policy documents get less attention than they deserve.

[–] sepi@piefed.social 12 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Don't insult us by association

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[–] mlg@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

15 years in the making to unban "fake and gay"

[–] RedBauble@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'll bite. Meta, obviously, never actually cared about free speech. Zuckerberg also said that they are about to flood the platforms with AI bots to increase engagement. I'd say getting rid of fact checkers is only to avoid having their own bots automatically brought down by their own moderation. The rest is a façade

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 9 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Something tells me that Facebook does not feel the same if you say that about Republicans.

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[–] iAmTheTot@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

The timing of this right before the incoming us admin is not a coincidence.

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[–] WatDabney@fedia.io 8 points 3 weeks ago

Just the latest salvo in the proxy class war.

The bigoted, hateful hard right-wingers have been and are being very deliberately and methodically indoctrinated into serving as the footsoldiers in the privileged parasite class's proxy war against the left.

And Meta is ready to play its part.

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 weeks ago

Because they're gay or trans, or because they're on Facebook?

Idk im Trans and I also have depression :3

(Im guessing that's not what this means tho)

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