“Meta will allow users to accuse LGBTQ people of mental illness Meta has updated its content moderation rules to allow accusations of mental illness based on gender identity. The company is also changing its fact-checking system and lifting some restrictions on hate speech.”, — write on: unn.ua
The company’s new rules prohibit insults about intelligence or mental illness on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as they did in previous versions. However, recent changes include an addition that allows LGBTQ people to be blamed for mental disorders because of their orientation or gender identity.
“We allow accusations of mental disorder or abnormality when they are based on gender or sexual orientation, given the political and religious debate about transgenderism and homosexuality, and the widespread use of words such as ‘queer,'” the company’s updated rules state. .
The new hate speech rule is part of a broader change in Meta’s moderation policy related to monitoring online networks on its platforms.
On Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will replace its fact-checking program, which previously worked with trusted partners, with a new system where verification will be done by users themselves, similar to Community Notes in X. In this system, users can submit suggestions about ” notes” to others’ content and then vote on whether those notes should be published. Zuckerberg explained that the changes are related to “recent elections” and “cultural changes” emphasizing the importance of freedom of expression.
The new hate speech rules include many changes, including lifting the ban on images of people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religion, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity or serious illness. Meta also removed policies that prohibited hate speech against people or groups based on their protected categories, and allowed the use of the word “it” to refer to transgender or non-binary people.
GLAAD, an LGBTQ media advocacy organization, strongly condemned the changes.
“Without these necessary hate speech policies and others, Meta gives a green light to violence, venomous speech, and the denigration of LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
She added that with these changes, Meta continues to normalize anti-LGBTQ hate for profit, putting its users and true freedom of expression at risk. Fact-checking and anti-hate speech policies protect free speech.
A representative for Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
Tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, Apple and OpenAI have become more supportive of President-elect Donald Trump. Meta, in particular, donated $1 million to the Trump Foundation for his second inaugural event.
We will remind
Back in November 2024, Donald Trump announced a large-scale campaign against people from the LGBTQ+ community.
During his campaign, he promised to impose restrictions on transgender people, including signing an executive order that would cut funding for schools that he said were engaged in “gender education.” Trump also said he would “prevent men from participating in women’s sports” and end federal Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide sex reassignment services to minors.
In addition, during his first term, Trump introduced a ban on transgender people joining the US armed forces, although those already serving at the time were not eligible for discharge. This decree was later revoked by Joe Biden. And in November 2024, talks started again that Trump plans to restore this ban.