Summary Decision on Satirical Harris-Walz Image Highlights Risk of Political Speech Being Suppressed Ahead of Elections
October 23, 2024
Summary decisions examine cases in which Meta has reversed its original decision on a piece of content after the Board brought it to the company's attention and include information about Meta's acknowledged errors. They are approved by a Board Member panel, rather than the full Board, do not involve public comments and do not have precedential value for the Board. Summary decisions directly bring about changes to Meta's decisions, providing transparency on these corrections, while identifying where Meta could improve its enforcement.
About the Case
In August 2024, a Facebook user posted an altered picture based on the poster for the 1994 comedy film “Dumb and Dumber.” In the altered image, the faces of the original actors are replaced by the U.S. presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. As in the original poster, the two figures are grabbing each other’s nipples through their clothing. The content was posted with a caption that includes the emojis “🤷♂️🖕🖕.” Meta initially removed the user’s post from Facebook under its Bullying and Harassment Community Standard, which prohibits “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.”
After the user appealed Meta’s decision to remove their content to the Board, the Board brought this case to the company’s attention. Meta then determined its removal was incorrect, restoring the post to Facebook.
Significance
The Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment policy with respect to satire and political speech in the form of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures. It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political candidates, including in a sarcastic manner. This post is nothing more than a commonplace satirical image of prominent politicians and is instantly recognizable as such.
Read about the relevant recommendations the Board has previously made on effective assessment of context and an election integrity framework.
