QUESTION:
Is Facebook blocking comments critical of immigrants?
ANSWER:
Yes, some disparaging comments are considered 'hate speech' by Facebook and can be blocked. Facebook's Community Standards is explicitly protective against anti-immigrant comments.
SOURCE:
Facebook's Community Standards: Hate Speech
2018 Facebook Report- Hard Questions: How Is Facebook’s Fact-Checking Program Working?
PROCESS:
Everyone's got an opinion, and social media can be people's soapbox.
With tensions high over strict immigration policies, the comment section on articles, Facebook posts and videos has become a jungle. People on both sides of the political aisle are hashing it out on social media.
Facebook employees are confronted with securing people's right to free speech while also keeping the conversation civil and nontoxic.
Verify viewer Bill Ziegler asked the Verify team why his post was blocked online after writing sentiments critical of undocumented immigrants. Is Facebook flagging comments that disparage immigrants?
Bill gave us permission to share what he wrote:
We dug deeper and found it wasn't just Bill, others complained their posts were flagged for hate speech. They're calling it censorship.
Facebook has rules protecting immigrants, according to their Community Standards but they told WUSA9 researchers, “We do allow criticism of immigration policies and arguments for restricting those policies.”
They're policy explains hate speech is defined as direct attack on people based on what they call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, and serious disability or disease. They do provide some protections for immigration status
A Facebook spokesperson explained that the company does remove certain content that attacks someone because of their immigration status but we do allow criticism of immigration policies and arguments for restricting those policies.
There are also specific words Facebook will block you for like:
- calling someone 'deformed,' 'ugly,' 'stupid,' 'cheap' or 'free riders'
- saying 'I hate' or 'X are the worst'
- comparing someone to filth, bacteria, disease or feces
"We investigated how this material appeared globally and decided to develop new guidelines to remove calls for violence against migrants or dehumanizing references to them — such as comparisons to animals, to filth or to trash," Facebook wrote. "But we have left in place the ability for people to express their views on immigration itself. And we are deeply committed to making sure Facebook remains a place for legitimate debate."
The Verify team asked Facebook why they specifically blocked Bill's post. Facebook's spokesperson told us that Bill's post DID NOT violate their Community Standards and has been restored.
Between January and March of 2018, Facebook blocked 2.5 million posts according to a recent company report. Sixty-two percent of those violations were flagged by other people, not Facebook employees.
We can verify, yes, Facebook can block derogatory comments on immigrants that's considered hate speech. Bill's however, was mistakenly removed and has since been restored.
