9/7/24, 14:07
Violence against women | Consejo asesor de contenido
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Public comments appendix
CASE SUMMARY
The Oversight Board has overturned Meta’s decisions to remove two Instagram posts which
condemned gender-based violence. The Board recommends that Meta include the exception for
allowing content that condemns or raises awareness of gender-based violence in the public
language of the Hate Speech policy, as well as update its internal guidance to reviewers to ensure
such posts are not mistakenly removed.
About the cases
In this decision, the Board considers two posts from an Instagram user in Sweden together. Meta
removed both posts for violating its Hate Speech Community Standard. After the Board identified
the cases, Meta decided that the first post had been removed in error but maintained its decision on
the second post.
The first post contains a video with an audio recording and its transcription, both in Swedish, of a
woman describing her experience in a violent intimate relationship, including how she felt unable to
discuss the situation with her family. The caption notes that the woman in the audio recording
consented to its publication, and that the voice has been modified. It says that there is a culture of
blaming victims of gender-based violence, and little understanding of how difficult it is for women to
leave a violent partner. The caption says, “men murder, rape and abuse women mentally and
physically – all the time, every day.” It also shares information about support organizations for
victims of intimate partner violence, mentions the International Day for the Elimination of Violence
against Women, and says it hopes women reading the post will realize they are not alone.
After one of Meta’s classifiers identified the content as potentially violating Meta’s rules on hate
speech, two reviewers examined the post and removed it. This decision was then upheld by the
same two reviewers on different levels of review. As a result of the Board selecting this case, Meta
determined that it had removed the content in error, restoring the post.
https://www.oversightboard.com/decision/ig-h3138h6s/?lang=es
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