Zuckerberg announces changes to free speech on Meta (including the topic of gender)

[Justme56]

There are a few clips on TwiX but as not everyone e is on this platform I am linking to You tube (apologies I don't know anything about this site). Some interesting points including:

"Second we're going to simplify our content policies and get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse. What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas and it's gone too far so I want to make sure that people can share their beliefs and experiences on our platforms."

Who knows if anything will come of this, but it is a change in direction.

Yes! I think this is very similar to the problem of rootless international companies floating about to wherever the nearest tax haven or very rich people buying up passports and sort of floating around the world to wherever the standard of living is good (because of other people's taxes usually) but where taxes for them are relatively low. It is the same phenomena but occurring within America. Thanks for pointing it out!

Pronouns: Y'all; Me all; He/she/they all

I know there are automated deletions, but even these aren't systematically applied. ie I have been able to share posts that others have had deleted. (Not that I believe that tech is infallable.)

That's why I suspect that there are a huge % that are because of individuals, or even networks of people reporting posts.

You said we’ve had a whole bunch of ridiculous deletions

How can you be sure that a % aren't because of posts being reported?

Your admin rule would be irrelevant to that happening.

I understand you cant, dont want to talk about a fb group that could identify it, but if it isn't about contentious issues, with "triggering" words that the algorithms might pick up, its as likely if not more, to be members who have other motives for reporting.

Agreed. Trump got voted in, gender ideology is finally getting unpopular press, immigration is a huge topic, people are now going to X so they can speak freely and all of a sudden he's become aware of the error of his ways. Self serving! But at least it opens up a platform for free speech.

Just to add I think what has been anounced is not about principles or whatever, but a measure of how someone who wants to make even more money than they used to, is making sure he is on the right side of Trump.

Also worth remember that twitte X is one of the least used social media platforms. So what goes on there is by and large irrelevant.

It is only relevant when MSM totally over hypes what is happening there. And it is them that creates the problems. Because barring MSM why would anyone stay on it.

ie Facebook has 3065 million users. Twitter has 611.

Much of what is happening is meda manipulation to make us feel certain things aren't important, and others are. In practice twitter is irrelevant and of little use. But the MSM makes some, who knows why, think they need to be part of this tiny puddle of dirt.

But the dominance of Facebook is more concerning, accept that very few people use it to make flashy statements, and attract lots of likes and shares.

Most people only post to friends etc..

Or, as discussed in PP, are part of groups where theoretically they have signed up to share and discuss with those with similar instances. And mainly when these groups go wrong isn't about Facebook itself, but because someone or more than one gets control of the group through taking over the admin role. And as this also happens in real life not sure Facebook can be blamed for entryists.

And as has been mentioned up thread, how commercial companies use facebook is quite often meaningless, or of little value to users.

But agains the statistics I have found that many news programmes no longer maintain a facebook page. And I think that's because they got much more detailed and well thoughtout responses. And they didn't want that.

So in terms of the virtual world what goes on on facebook is more important in terms of reach etc.. And although said to be mainly used by an older age group, clearly has not lost it being far and away the mass leader.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

Much as I hate a lot of the shouting and look at me, look at me, content of twitter etc., I think what is far more alarming is how search engines have been politicised. And are actually less functional.

So its not just that you cant rely on going to wikkipedia to check facts (because content is manipulated), but now using searches for facts will be hampered by the algoriths they use.

ie instead of a purely search by topic and date, you are fed sponsored content, and maybe even worse, they promote what have been previously popular results.

So information is now skewed in favour of popular rather than accurate.

Its not just that the tech bros rule the internet but increasingly the IRL world.

This is becoming an even bigger problem with AI.

Chat GPT leans TRA, for example.

Not sure if this has been posted. In case anyone is interested in what Sex Matters thinks!

https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/meta-pledges-to-stop-censoring-gender-critical-speech/

Didn't somebody say upthread that this new policy only applied in the US? Is that correct? The SM piece doesn't mention it.

Great news, a sign of the times

The members of Meta’s Oversight Board will now have to either stand up for the new policy on human-rights grounds or resign. At the very least they, and the rest of the human-rights establishment, will have to talk seriously about a subject they have spent years trying to avoid.

When being interviewed this morning, Helle Thornint-Schmidt specifically said the one issue the Board was concerned about was trans / LGBTQ++

Apparently no worries about a surge in misogynistic hate directed at women. Because the internet is such a friendly place for women and girls.

How could this be implemented if true?

Blatant sexism and misogyny were never out on FB - it was built in from the start, and their algorithms and mods have never had a problem with rape threats, images of women who been attacked etc. Reports of that type of content have always been met with 'doesn't break our community standards'.

I think it's their US-based fact check teams that are being stood down - who presumably concentrated on content originating in the US/based on US media. So it's not that we'll get fact-checked content and the US will get the same stuff without checks.

Yes, their automated system is very flawed and inconsistent. We’ve had the same issue with some content being deleted and then not others.

I once got a temporary ban on FB for sharing a GIF that was allegedly explicit. It was one of FB’s own GIFs and the man had his hand resting in his lap - the algorithm interpreted his little finger as exposed genitals 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Other people had used the same GIF with no issue. The FB automated checking system really is just rubbish.

I’m sure there is a small % of deletions that are due to human reports but in my experience they are very much a tiny minority. If you report something it’s not reviewed by human eyes, it’s an automated check. And frequently no action is taken, even for clear and obvious breaches of community standards. I’m not saying never, but it’s surprisingly difficult to get posts deleted that aren’t picked up by FB’s own bots.

We know for certain that a large number of the deletions have been picked up by the algorithm as we used our access to get them individually checked. Without being too outing, our FB groups are hobby/business related - we have a mainstream group (which is the large one) and then another group dedicated to more provocative/adult themed items. The mainstream group is very uncontroversial and “safe” - but we’ve had WAY more random deletions in there than in the more risqué group! Random deletions can really affect our members’ businesses so historically we’ve spoken directly to FB employees and asked for a manual check. On every occasion the deletion has been due to an algorithm.

An example of one deletion was the word “knob” - used very clearly and in context about drawers. Nope. The post removed and a warning issued. Other people were able to post about drawer knobs. Bonkers 🤦🏻‍♀️

Over the years we’ve had periods where certain groups of people have mounted sabotage campaigns (ex-members who were removed for being abusive to others - it’s a very long story lol). They really were out to try and cause havoc - but they weren’t successful in getting posts removed despite their best efforts.

I appreciate all of this is anecdotal but we’ve really dug deep into the subject of post deletions and spoken repeatedly to our contacts at FB about the subject. I see lots of people venting on FB in other groups about malicious people reporting their posts but in the vast majority of cases, it’s very clear than it’s just the FB algorithm and nothing more. But people are intent on believing they’re being reported when that really isn’t the case. The random and inconsistent nature of FB’s algorithms doesn’t help. Posts that were absolutely fine sometimes randomly get picked up months or even years later!

The FB team that we talked to openly acknowledged that the algorithm wasn’t great and needed work.

Having access to actual humans to talk to made a very big difference for us. FB is particularly poor in terms of customer service and as a norm, most people only get AI-generated responses. It’s very difficult to bypass this and get through to an actual real human unless you have some kind of access like we were given. The difference in responses was like night and day.

Any admin of a FB group can challenge a post that’s been removed- there’s usually a button you can press that allows you to ask for it to be reviewed. But that’s also an AI check and not carried out by humans so it’s not often you can get the decision overturned via the usual channels.

It’s a very flawed system and as FB grew, they didn’t put much emphasis on providing an accurate and personal experience. They’ve relied on blanket rules and checks, and seem very happy to accept this may lead to incorrect decisions. It’s why you get people using daft phrases like “unalived” rather than “killed” because the algorithm can’t judge context. Although, it’s very naive to think the algorithm hasn’t been updated to include this word now!

With ref to your other point, I think you’re absolutely on the money. Zuckerberg wants in on the bro party…hence the appointment of a Trumper to the FB board. It’s disappointing but not surprising.

Most of the "censorship" and anti-GC action that I have read about/heard about happening on Facebook seems to have been along the lines of people being kicked out of groups etc for wrong-speak. e.g. A women's make-up group where a transwoman asks for feedback and receives gushing posts but even mild criticism got someone banned by the admin. Or a breastfeeding support/baby group where someone questions the validity of trans women breastfeeding etc etc. The end to content moderation won't make any difference to this whatsoever - admins still have the rights to kick people out for anything so that won't change (and I doubt people want it to). It is basically going to function like Reddit now. Yes (unlike reddit TBF) people will probably be able to create GC groups. But equally men will be able to share fantasies about being silly slutty girlies (and worse but not typing that here) in their groups. Lots of silos/echo chambers so very little chance to alert new people or change people's minds.

Unlike reddit, most people use facebook with their real names and have friends, family linked etc. So please just be aware (I know that sounds patronising) that if you do start joining/creating gender critical groups/ groups where the admin allows people to comment on trans issues without kicking them out, that they WILL be infiltrated and screenshotted by trolls with lots of time on their hands who will probably also spam anyone "friended" with you as well. I don't want to scare monger people out of speaking freely. But there are very strange people with a lot of time on their hands. I speak openly about what I think in the "real world". But even I would hesitate to do it on an online space where there are people just waiting to screenshot. Especially when my mum is commenting on pet photos on my page etc. At the very least, check privacy settings regularly because they tend to get "updated" a lot by Meta.

This is an interesting article from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjwlwlqpwx7o.amp

Not least because they seem to have forgotten to mention that Helle Thorning-Schmidt has a(n adult) child who has a trans identity.

😂

I couldn't find my own photo from a few years ago of a shop in Texas with a sign advertising that it sold hand grenades - another aspect of 'living like a Texan': nipping down to the local shop to buy hand grenades - so I searched online for a similar.
Not only did I not find one, but there is now a search for hand grenades in my internet search history😱

Meta has also announced that it will end its DEI programmes. It's almost as if having DEI wasn't a matter of principle but purely one of expediency. Who'd a thought it, eh?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/10/meta-ending-dei-program

Refering back to earlier post, someone being interviewed on a news programme, said the changes to "free speech" will initially only be in America. (Does that mean if I set up an account claiming to be in the US I would be able to say things I cant as linked to the UK.)

And if this works out will be expanded, but that because of ????? in Europe they will not be able to do it.

Did anyone hear this. And if so what was / is it about Europe that means it might to different?

Thanks

i find fb pretty unuseable on account of them not presenting the posts of the people you are linked with in date order (unless you fiddle around with feeds etc which doesn't work in the app) and the fact that you have to scroll through 5 ads and 15 posts from pages you have zero interest in, before you find one post from a friend, then realise it's from before Christmas.

i pretty much use it as a diary.

But. many of my friends are deleting their accounts in a massive panic because now everyone is allowed to be mean about trans people (really. And none of the people i know saying this are trans, or have - afaik - a trans relative or friend). It is a huge panic over nothing. But i am watching and waiting.

Because these same friends also decamped from twitter to bluesky for the same reason. And all i can see is that people are no longer being banned for saying TW are men. So again. I am watching and waiting. (my twitter is still full of football and cats, same as it ever was)

not presenting the posts of the people you are linked with in date order (unless you fiddle around with feeds etc which doesn't work in the app)

Worst decision of FB that turned a quite functional and useful social media platform into stupidity.

Instead of prioritising posts from FB friends in date order, they hyphened them off into this feed nonsense, but select which ones you see.

Then to add to the irritation they tell you the next day there is a new post from someone or other, and when you click on that in fact it is a post that has already been shown in your feed.

Its hard to believe that anyone sat down and decided this was a good idea, and would make it more user friendly and useful.

I suspect it was because they want to force you to look at posts on your home page, ie what they think is importatn.

I still get useful info from FB, but its now just a lottery. ie not logical.

I just cant understand the thought process that decided this was a good idea.

Every single time I see a local event, it appears on my FB feed just after it finished. Even if it was posted 4 days prior. Makes it completely useless. I'd have ditched it if I wasn't living abroad from most of my family, and the rest of them weren't in the USA or Canada.

Pp mentioned Zuckerberg doing this now due to Trump which is likely timing

It could be the start of gender ideology finally losing ground

added to the not seeing things until after the event (and i have contacted organisations in the past about this and suggested they talk to fb about it) is the (and it happens on twitter too) is the sudden refresh so you may have been scrolling and thought "oh, I'll look at that" and BAM! it's gone. Who thought that was a good idea?