Negative Stereotypes of African Americans Bundle

UPDATED

APR 28, 2024

2024-021-FB-UA, 2024-022-FB-UA, 2024-023-FB-UA

We welcome the Oversight Board’s decision today, April 18, 2024, on this case which deals with three Facebook posts, each of which included a caricature or manipulated image of African Americans that highlight offensive stereotypes.

Upon initial review, Meta left this content up. However, after the board brought the case to our attention, we determined that all three pieces of content violate our Hate Speech policy and the second piece of content also violates our Bullying and Harassment policy, as laid out in the Facebook Community Standards, and removed all three pieces of content.

Meta removes content that directs attacks against people on the basis of protected characteristics, including race and ethnicity. The Hate Speech policy also specifically prohibits “targeting a person or a group” with “dehumanizing speech” in the form of “comparisons to criminals including thieves,” “mocking the concept, events or victims of hate crimes” and “generalizations that state inferiority in ... moral characteristics.” Additionally, under our Bullying and Harassment policy we remove “celebration or mocking of death or medical condition” of anyone.

There will be no further updates to this case.