On Facebook, Comments About ‘Whites,’ ‘Men,’ And ‘Americans’ Will Face Less Moderation

Topline

Facebook has shifted a long-standing policy of so-called “race-blind” hate speech moderation to consider the detection and deletion of certain comments about “whites,” “men,” and “Americans” low-priority compared to those about historically marginalized groups.  

Key Facts

Crucial Quote 

“We know that hate speech targeted toward underrepresented groups can be the most harmful, which is why we have focused our technology on finding the hate speech that users and experts tell us is the most serious,” Facebook spokesperson Sally Aldous told Forbes. “Thanks to significant investments in our technology we proactively detect 95% of the content we remove and we continue to improve how we enforce our rules as hate speech evolves over time.”

Key Background 

Months of racial reckoning in the U.S. following the May death of George Floyd turned attention to Facebook’s hate speech policies, which were accused of failing to protect minority populations. At the height of nationwide protests, NBC News and The Washington Post both accessed an internal chart from Facebook that showed the top three derogatory terms its automated systems removed in the month of June were “white trash,” “cracker” and a gay slur. Meanwhile, hate speech against Blacks, Jews and transgender people was reportedly taken down less frequently. An independent civil rights audit commissioned by the company determined its hate speech policies to be a “tremendous setback” in terms of protecting its users of color. Complaints over Facebook’s content moderation sparked a high-profile advertising boycott over the summer entitled “Stop Hate For Profit,” joined by major companies like Pfizer, Ford, Adidas, Clorox, Chobani and Starbucks. Facebook has since adjusted parts of its policies, announcing a ban on content denying the Holocaust, as well as “more implicit hate speech, such as content depicting Blakcface [and] stereotypes about Jewish people controlling the worlds,” according to Aldous. 

Further Reading 

“Facebook Will Start Removing Misinformation About Covid-19 Vaccines” (Forbes)

“Anti-Black Hate Flourished On Facebook And Telegram Amid George Floyd Protests, ADL Finds” (Forbes)