Graphic Content in Awareness-Raising Context
UPDATED APR 24, 2026
Summary Decision 2026-025-FB-UA, 2026-026-FB-UA, 2026-027-FB-UA, 2026-028-IG-UA
We welcome the Oversight Board’s decisions today, April 21, 2026, regarding Facebook and Instagram posts between August and September of 2025 depicting graphic content shared in an awareness-raising context.
The first case deals with a video on Facebook that shows an individual holding a bucket of water near several people with visible burn injuries in the aftermath of a gas truck explosion in Mexico City. The caption, translated from Spanish, reads: “Mistakes you should not make.” In the audio, a person explains that the individual with the bucket intended to pour water on the burn victims, which would have introduced bacteria to their exposed skin.
The second case involves a Facebook post with a video showing injured victims seemingly from the same explosion in Mexico City. As the video focuses on some of the victims, who are naked, it darkens and becomes more obscure. The caption, translated from Spanish, reads: “Strong images,” followed by hashtags including “#fire” and “#news.”
In the third case, a news organization posted a video that, in two different moments, features an image of a slit throat. The caption, translated from Ukrainian, describes a Ukrainian combatant who crawled for five days from Russian captivity to Ukrainian positions. The post also claims that the combatant and his comrades were tortured while in captivity.
The fourth case concerns an Instagram video of an individual peeling skin from their hand to reveal exposed flesh. The caption, translated from Portuguese, provides information about the risks of infection and fluid deficiency associated with a loss of skin continuity, and contains hashtags related to nursing and healthcare.
Upon initial review, Meta took down all four pieces of content for violating our policy on Violent and Graphic Content, as laid out in the Community Standards. However, upon additional review, we determined we removed these pieces of content in error and reinstated the posts, with an age-gated warning screen applied to the content in the third case.
There will be no further updates to this case.