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Comment on Kenyan Politics Using a Designated Slur
ÚLTIMA ACTUALIZACIÓN 3 JUN. 2025
Today, June 3, 2025, the Oversight Board selected a case appealed by a Facebook user regarding a comment on a post about former Deputy President of Kenya Rigathi Gachagua’s support for former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s candidacy in the election for the African Union’s Chairperson. The post features a photograph of Gachagua with text overlay claiming he endorsed Odinga, a member of the Luo ethnic group, to appease Odinga’s Luo constituency and advance his own political interests, despite being a member of the Kikuyu ethnic group. The caption also suggests that Luo people are gullible and would vote for anyone that benefits Odinga even if they are allegedly responsible for violence committed against Luo people in the past.
The user’s comment on the post mocks the reaction to Gachagua’s statement and dismisses its explanation as meant for “tugeges,” referring to his Kikuyu supporters, and instead suggests his endorsement is for an external audience, rather than a Kenyan audience. Meta translates “tugeges” to mean “retarded Kikuyu.”
Meta took down the comment for violating our Hateful Conduct Community Standard, which prohibits content that “describes or negatively targets people with slurs.” Meta defines slurs as “words that inherently create an atmosphere of exclusion and intimidation against people on the basis of a protected characteristic.”
We will implement the Board's decision once it has finished deliberating, and will update this post accordingly. Please see the Board's website for the decision when they issue it.
Read the board’s case selection summary