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2025-015-IG-MR, 2025-016-IG-MR, 2025-017-IG-MR
Today, February 13, 2025, the Oversight Board selected a case bundle referred by Meta regarding three pieces of content posted to Instagram all involving symbols often used by hate groups but which can also have other uses.
The first piece of content was an image of a woman with a part of her face covered by a scarf. The words “Slavic Army” and a kolovrat symbol, a type of swastika used both by neo-Nazis and some pagans without apparent extremist intent, were superimposed on the scarf. The image was accompanied by a caption that expressed the user’s pride in being Slavic and stated that kolovrat is a symbol of faith, war, peace, hate, and love.
The second piece of content concerns a carousel of images which depict a woman in various poses wearing an iron cross necklace and a t-shirt with an AK-47 assault rifle and the words “Defend Europe” printed on it. The Fraktur font on the t-shirt typeface and the Odal (or Othala) rune in the caption – a symbol from the runic alphabet that was used in Europe prior to its replacement by the Latin alphabet – are both associated with Nazis and neo-Nazis. The caption also contained the hashtag #DefendEuorpe, which is a slogan used by white supremacists and other extremist organizations opposing immigration.
The third piece of content also concerns a carousel of images which are drawings of an Odal rune wrapped around a sword with a quote about blood and fate by a German author and soldier who fought in the first and second world wars. The caption shares a selective early history of the rune without mentioning its Nazi and neo-Nazi appropriation, as well as the conclusion that the rune is about “heritage, homeland, and family.” The caption also states that prints of the image are for sale.
Meta determined that the first two pieces of content violated our Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy, as laid out in the Instagram Community Guidelines and Facebook Community Standards. Meta determined that the third piece of content did not violate our policies and left the content up.
Meta referred this case to the Board because we found it significant and difficult as it creates tension between our values of safety and voice.
While these symbols and others like them may be used to promote dangerous organizations and individuals, be used by members of these groups to identify themselves, or to show support for the group’s objectives, prohibiting these symbols entirely could limit discussions of history, linguistics, and art.
We will implement the Board’s decision once it has finished deliberating, and we will update this post accordingly. Please see the Board’s website for the decision when they issue it.
