Facebook and Instagram now permits calling transgender people mentally ill

Meta drops support for LGBT and gender policies. Photo: lgbtlifecenter

On January 7, 2025, Meta (the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) announced significant changes to its content moderation policies, to be implemented in the coming months, CNN reports.

According to the publication, users are now permitted to refer to transgender or non-binary people using neutral pronouns such as "it".  In addiiton, a new section of the policy notes Meta will allow “allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality.”

Previously, such comments were subject to removal under the platform's policy.

Meta also announced adjustments to its automated systems, which scan for policy violations, stating that these systems have resulted in "too much content being censored that shouldn’t have been." The systems will now focus solely on severe violations, such as child sexual exploitation and terrorism.

Zuckerberg stated that the new approach would mean "that we’re going to catch less bad stuff, but we’ll also reduce the number of innocent people’s posts and accounts that we accidentally take down."

A Meta representative emphasized that the company would continue to prohibit attacks on specific groups based on ethnicity, race, or religion, as well as prohibiting slurs.

Additionally, Meta has eliminated employment quotas for LGBT individuals. The company no longer has teams dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion; no longer works with minority-owned suppliers; and has removed targets for hiring women and LGBT representatives.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Donald Trump promised to "put an end to transgender lunacy".

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