GLAAD report says Meta allows anti-trans hate to ‘flourish’ on its platforms

GLAAD, nan world’s largest LGBTQ+ media defense group, claims that Meta’s contented moderation strategy is allowing an “epidemic of anti-transgender hate” to flourish connected its platform. A new report published by nan group says Meta has allowed dozens of anti-trans posts — including ones that telephone for unit against backstage individuals — to enactment online. The statement says that LGBTQ+ group “experience an expanding number of well-documented real-world harms” owed to “propaganda campaigns, driven by the anti-LGBTQ extremists that Meta allows to flourish connected its platforms.”

The study documents respective examples of anti-trans contented posted to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads betwixt June 2023 and March of this year, each of which GLAAD reported via Meta’s “standard level reporting systems.” Some of nan posts utilized hateful anti-trans slurs, while others — including an Instagram station depicting a personification being beaten pinch stones that person been replaced by nan laughing emoji — telephone transgender group “demonic” and “satanic.” Several posts impeach transgender group of being “sexual predators,” “perverts,” and “groomers,” which, successful caller years, has been utilized arsenic an anti-LGBTQ+ slur. 

According to GLAAD’s findings, Meta often fails to region posts that break its ain dislike reside policies. After GLAAD flagged posts that violated Meta’s dislike reside policies, “Meta either replied that posts were not violative aliases simply did not return action connected them,” nan study reads.

Some of nan posts were made by salient accounts, including Libs of TikTok, which is tally by far-right influencer Chaya Raichik. Raichik has become a fixture successful blimpish schoolhouse committee authorities successful caller years. In January, she was appointed to Oklahoma’s authorities room advisory committee. The study claims a “prominent anti-LGBTQ extremist account” created Facebook and Instagram posts attacking a gender nonconforming simple schoolhouse coach successful Kitsap, Washington, aft which nan schoolhouse received a bomb threat. The news article cited successful nan study identifies nan relationship arsenic Raichik’s.

“Meta itself acknowledges successful its nationalist statements and successful its ain policies that dislike reside ‘creates an situation of intimidation and exclusion, and successful immoderate cases whitethorn beforehand offline violence,’” GLAAD said successful a connection to The Washington Post.

Meta has not only allowed this contented to enactment connected its societal media platforms but has besides profited from it: a 2022 Media Matters report recovered that Meta had tally astatine slightest 150 ads connected its platforms accusing group of being “groomers.” That year, Meta told nan Daily Dot that making baseless accusations that LGBTQ+ group are groomers is simply a usurpation of its dislike reside policies. Meta suspended nan “Gays Against Groomers” Facebook relationship past September but later restored it. Meta told nan Daily Dot that nan suspension was nan consequence of a level error.

In January, Meta’s Oversight Board overturned nan company’s determination not to region a post encouraging transgender group to perpetrate suicide. The committee noted that 11 different users had reported nan station 12 times, but Meta’s automated systems only prioritized 2 of those posts for quality review. Both of nan reviewers “assessed it arsenic non-violating and did not escalate it further.” The station was only removed aft nan committee officially took up nan appeal.

The issue, nan committee claimed, was not that Meta didn’t person capable policies against dislike reside but that it grounded to enforce them. The committee recovered that nan personification down nan original station had antecedently harassed trans group online and had created a caller Facebook relationship aft being suspended successful nan past. “Meta’s repeated nonaccomplishment to return nan correct enforcement action, contempt aggregate signals astir nan post’s harmful content, leads nan Board to reason nan institution is not surviving up to nan ideals it has articulated connected LGBTQIA+ safety,” nan committee wrote.

Meta did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.