Oversight Board says Meta’s dealing with of a satirical picture of Harris and Walz raises ‘severe issues’

Two weeks earlier than the US presidential election, the Oversight Board says it has “severe issues” about Meta’s content material moderation techniques in “electoral contexts,” and that the corporate dangers the “extreme elimination of political speech” when it over-enforces its guidelines. The admonishment got here because the board weighed in on a case involving a satirical picture of Vice President Kamala Harris and her operating mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Meta initially eliminated the submit, shared on Fb in August, that confirmed an edited model of a film poster from Dumb and Dumber. The unique 1994 film poster reveals the 2 most important characters grabbing one another’s nipples by way of their shirts. Within the altered model, the actors’ faces had been changed by Harris and Walz.

In accordance with the Oversight Board, Meta cited its bullying and harassment guidelines, which features a provision barring “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.” The social community later restored the submit after it drew consideration from the Oversight Board, and the corporate acknowledged the satirical picture didn’t break its guidelines as a result of it didn’t depict sexual exercise.

Regardless of Meta’s reversal, the board says the case suggests bigger points in how Meta handles posts coping with election-related content material. “This submit is nothing greater than a commonplace satirical picture of outstanding politicians and is immediately recognizable as such,” the board wrote. “Nonetheless, the corporate’s failure to acknowledge the character of this submit and deal with it accordingly raises severe issues in regards to the techniques and assets Meta has in place to successfully make content material determinations in such electoral contexts.”

It’s unusually direct criticism from the Oversight Board, which launched its evaluation of the case in a abstract choice, which comes with out the group’s typical laundry record of suggestions for the social media firm. The board has beforehand pushed Meta its guidelines round satirical content material.The newest case highlights one other concern that most of the firm’s customers have additionally complained about: over-enforcing its guidelines.

“On this case, nonetheless, the Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment coverage with respect to satire and political speech within the type of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures,” the board wrote. “It additionally factors to the hazards that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment coverage can have, particularly within the context of an election, as it might result in the extreme elimination of political speech and undermine the flexibility to criticize authorities officers and political candidates, together with in a sarcastic method.”