Dehumanizing Comments About People in Gaza

UPDATED

APR 28, 2024

2024-026-FB-UA

We welcome the Oversight Board’s decision today, April 18, 2024, on this case which deals with a photo posted to Facebook featuring text expressing the view that the “general public” in Gaza is not the “victim” of Hamas but rather, that the militant group emerged as a “true reflection” of “the innermost desires of a savage horde.”

Upon initial review, Meta left this content up. However, after the board brought the case to our attention, we determined the content violates our Hate Speech Policy, as laid out in the Facebook Community Standards, and removed the content. Meta prohibits content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristics, specifically mentioning comparisons to “sub humanity” and including “savages” as an example. In this content, the reference to the general public of Gaza is an implicit reference to Palestinians in Gaza, thus targeting the protected characteristics of ethnicity and nationality.

There will be no further updates to this case.