Rita Odafe
Meta is set to revise its content guidelines in light of President Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration.
The parent company of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads plans to adjust its hate speech policies to permit users to label LGBTQ individuals as mentally ill.
This announcement came from Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday.
The changes will impact billions worldwide as it follows Meta’s recent decision to replace fact-checking on Facebook with user-generated community notes, akin to a feature found on X.
“We will accept claims regarding mental health or abnormality associated with gender or sexual orientation, taking into account political and religious discussions surrounding transgender issues and homosexuality,” stated the updated guidelines from Meta.
However, this decision has sparked backlash from the LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD, which criticized the new guidelines.
GLAAD’s president, Sarah Kate Ellis, expressed concern, stating, “By removing essential hate speech protections, Meta is allowing individuals to attack LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups with violence and dehumanizing rhetoric.”
Ellis further claimed that Meta is capitalizing on anti-LGBTQ sentiment at the expense of its users and genuine freedom of expression with these modifications.
