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.
I’m trans. I do have mental illness. It’s because society keeps sending me signals that I shouldn’t exist.
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.
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.
This person gets it.
Thank you.
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.
It’s our current iteration of society that shouldn’t exist.
Society can get fucked. You’re valid. Normal people want you here.
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
Meta went all in on the VR Metaverse to woo the next generation and just shot themselves in the foot.
VR Metaverse would have worked if they let people have legs.
Meta would not have liked WHY it would have worked, however…
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.
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.
I ditched facebook. Just means my friends and family have to call me. And if they don’t, fuck em.
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.
Excuses…
Yeah the answer is to delete your account and find alternative messengers for people you actually care about. Others that care will follow.
Have a gander folks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook#Criticisms_and_controversies
It’s also his first mammalian penis
Do we not get to count all the foreskins he’s eaten?
cool it with the anti-semitism
Isn’t that pro-semitism?
Possibly, either way I’m taking the piss.
lol as is tradition
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.
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).
I don’t think it’s a mask, I think they’re signaling and competing for favor. The timing is obvious.
Don’t forget that they will actively defend hate speech and overly police the opposite because their moderators aren’t moderated. They have literal priests dictating what is considered misoginy and homophobia ffs (True story).
Religion is a mental illness.
Preach! But you know, not really.
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What a wild comparison. One is based off scientific facts and one is purely based on the supernatural. Literal opposites
Are you saying transactivism declares some people evil? How is that activism different from all other queer activism and does that also declare people evil? Is the belief in a soul part of any of that? Am I missing your point?
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That trans people exist, while god doesn’t.
Well you piqued my interest, where can i find these trans liturgy you speak of ? In a trans church? Or should i go to a woke cathedral? But seriously, what a pityfull comment you made. You could at least try to explain what you mean by false dichotomie before screaming about whatever strawman your comment is about. When did “trans activism” declared somebody irredeemably evil? (And did they deserved it?) And why are you talking about souls? Is this your way of understanding gender dysphoria?
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Jk rowling is really not a good example of “unfair” accusations she literally denied that trans people where targeted by nazi
I think JK Rowling is an example of a person who should’ve stayed the fuck out of Twitter. There might be some debate on what kind of a person she was before starting to engage people in Twitter, but I don’t think there’s any doubt that it made her worse in every possible way.
That she has been unable to let it go is the same kind of tragedy as when somebody succumbs to a narcotic and thus becomes a destructive asshole. Was the drug the reason for that individual to become an asshole or was he an asshole in soul and the drug just brought it to the surface?
Sure ? i dont see the link with what you were saying before…
People deem JK evil because she’s a generally terrible, hateful person. On the other hand, religion deems an entire group of people as evil regardless of what they’ve done in their life. A woman likes a woman? Straight to hell according to them. They could cure cancer and still straight to hell (which is where JK stands with trans people)
And don’t forget before gay marriage was legalized, they stated that anyone who married outside their race was going straight to hell.
The religious “right” makes up a new enemy every 30-40 years when the group they were targeting gets legally recognized civil rights.
Trans people will get full rights as well. It’s just gonna take a couple decades and us fighting like hell. JK rowling is on the wrong side of history and will be viewed as such in a few decades. Shame she wasted her legacy
Guillotine Luigi.
What did Mario bros do to deserve such fate
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
Astute observation. I’m glad I stopped using the platform years ago but it seems like they’re focused on trying to innovate their tech more than the actual engagement.
More exploitation of the seniors who are the few people left
People need to stop using Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads, and Instagram.
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.
I remember back in 2017 or so when I left Facebook and did the same, only a handful arranged to keep contact otherwise. Ever since if I’ve met anyone from those years by accident, they’ve been very bitter that I just left them and didn’t stay in contact.
So just kind of a warning here, not everyone will be normal about it. It’s truly weird since I did the same; left a clear announcement I’d leave and hoped those interested would get in touch to figure out another way. Still so many, even after so many years, can feel betrayed and hurt because of that.
Thanks for the heads up. I can see how that would happen. In my case I posted literally once or twice a year since 2020 or so, and the last time I talked to anyone other than family was 6 months ago. I have several dozen “friends” that will see the post, but leaving likely won’t affect much other than them being able to see photographs on FB/Instagram. Everyone I actually interact with knows other ways to contact me.
Cite this article before you go.
I cannot believe how brave you are. It takes a lot of courage to quit post on facebook then report to Lemmy that you quit posted on Facebook.
It was directly related to the post above. “People should do this” -> “I actually just finished doing that.” It’s not like I came here to brag out of nowhere. Why are you ignoring that in favor of picking a fight?
WhatsApp
Buddy, I fucking wish I could, but I need it because it is the de facto communication method in Brazil.
I feel you bro
That sucks, get people to switch to signal or telegram.
Easier said than done. I couldn’t get even my mom on telegram, which is “the same thing”. For work, simply not possible, I don’t call the shots.
They won’t.
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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Meta is bad, but why leave WhatsApp? No ads, no moderation, no interference.
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Yup! When I announced I’d leave WhatsApp back in the day, even my (old) parents and some (even older) relatives proceeded to download signal just to stay in touch with me.
Sure, I miss some news or announcements that they share in the big WhatsApp groups, but mostly I’m as up to date as everyone.
Most of my friends did the same, but I noticed my age group (and younger) seem more adaptable here and very quickly figured everything out, and we got some groups entirely moved there. I suppose they feel okay having multiple apps for one thing, as opposed to the older gens, who struggle to learn one thing properly and try their best to just stick with it until eternity.
Haven’t missed WhatsApp a bit, it was the least impactful of all of the meta suite (and others) I left behind back in 2017(?) or so.
I’m with you on Signal. Problem is most of WhatsApp users see Telegram, not Signal, as an alternative because it had more coverage over time, while Signal had zero.
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.
Shoot 'em. The cops, I mean.
I wish, oh how I wish I could say you were lying or fear mongering.
The Democrats claiming they lost because they were “Too woke” and “Transpepole are to blame!11” despite the exit polls not supporting the reality of that idea was just manufacturing consent.
I honestly think conservatives want it to be legal for them to hunt and kill queer people in the streets.
Fucking insanity, right wing popularism here we come.
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.
- false statement. ✔️
- publication ✔️
- negligence proven by not understanding why it was banned from communications just recently on their platform ✔️
- 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.
You can now refer to women as property on Facebook and they are A-OK with that! But you will, and it has happened to me, catch an instant ban if you say all men are trash.
Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think people should be saying or be allowed to say either of those two things. Neither of those two things are good for anyone.
I suppose that was ops point
In the context I said it myself it was because of Trump the rapist. I am very tired of women being raped and everything that comes with conservatives normalizing it.
I think people should be able to say whatever bs they want to, but their identity should be attached to it.
Okay, whats your name, ip address, address, social security number …
That’s fine, I just choose to share last. Same as gun control. Every other entity needs to be disarmed. Every fucking government and billionaire too. Then I’m good with sharing everything.
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.
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.
The far right hates america more than you can imagine. They would be more likely to leave NATO than talking to the USA
These changes are only happening in the US. They wouldn’t be allowed to do this in the EU anyway, not without being sued loads.
His website and the posts in question are accessible from the EU though.
“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.
This is the same Joel Kaplan that participated in the brooks brothers riot stopping the recount of the ballots during the bush v gore election in 2000 where the republicans stole the election forever changing the course of American history.
Soon the Metaverse will resemble a classic CoD lobby.
Does the metaverse even exist? Like is it a thing people use?
This video is from last year and I doubt anything’s changed. It’s pretty funny if you haven’t seen it
I really like this video too
I’m just happy to see the old internet make a come back.
I’d rather be called the n-word by someone claiming to be having sexual relations with my mother.
Because I’m tired of hearing about how “PDF-files” went and “game-ended themselves”, because they had “corn” on their phones.
I prefer cesspools to a society so impossibly polite that it can only be a cover for a dystopia.
Yup. It’s insane that Demolition Man is becoming a non-fiction work.
Kinda saw it coming ten years ago when I realized that Demolition Man’s world was one where the mainstream was tumblr, and the counter culture forced to live in squalor for refusing to play along was 4Chan.
Heck Doug Walker had the same observation in his Nostalgia Critic review of the movie…
I stopped letting Meta take my attention once they started making my feed fill itself with “reccomended” “you might like” pages and profiles that I at no point ever clicked on or searched for.
before, my feed was exclusively my friends content, and pages I followed.
now, they fill the gaps with evangelicals, gambling, and idiots posting chinese and russian war propaganda.
yup, get the fuck out. im done.
My entire feed is just nonsense now. Last year a guy I knew from my Warcraft days had cancer while a relative in Canada had a baby.
They both posted these things on Facebook.
What Facebook showed me was constant spam, so now I just see chess puzzle channels from India, street cooking videos from places with no hygiene laws, magic eye pictures and retro games. I’ve never asked it for any of these things, yet some algorithm detected I paused for a millisecond while scrolling past them so now that’s all I get. Fuck the people I know, right?
It used to be useful for exactly one thing and it can’t even do that any more. The only way you can actually see a proper feed without spam is to go into a person/group’s profile directly.
I use the website / app for exactly one purpose, marketplace. buy and sell shit.
I still have messenger for work purposes, as well as some family and friends. but the “Feed”. the status updates, Fuck no. burn it all.
And you can’t even browse marketplace on the mobile site. It wants you to install their app.
And you get ads for anything you look up on Marketplace.
I decided I was going to discontinue using Meta products except to put out an occasional Instagram photo, pushed to Facebook, to tell…people I don’t even talk to anymore, and for good reason…that I was alive and a sight of what I was doing. I discontinued my old Facebook profile and made a new one only for this purpose.
Because Facebook kind of sees me as a new user, I’m able to see content I wasn’t able to before. And fuck, that place feels like some weird scam and bot flea market.
I hope it’s soon to die but who knows if it’ll transform into some unmasked arm of the government for surveillance.
Oh it’s a complete ghost town. Absolutely useless as actual social media. I suppose you could try starring/favoriting all your friends lol…
