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Meta’s oversight board ruled against the company’s decision to censor a Facebook meme mocking Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The board announced the decision on Wednesday, warning Meta that it was engaging in “overenforcement” of its anti-harassment and bullying policies. The meme in question superimposed the faces of Harris and Walz over a poster for the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”
The post, made in August, made it appear as though Harris and Walz were pinching one another’s nipples through their clothing. The user who shared it included some derogatory emojis above the post, but did not offer written commentary.
Meta initially removed the post under its rules against “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.” The oversight board says Meta reinstated the post when the board took up the case, clarifying that they did not consider the action depicted to be “sexual activity.”
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Meta’s oversight board ruled against the company’s decision to remove a social media post mocking Vice President Kamala Harris. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment policy with respect to satire and political speech in the form of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures,” the board wrote in its ruling. “It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political candidates.”
Oversight Board co-chair Michael McConnell told Fox News Digital that the vast majority of the body’s rulings are in favor of keeping or restoring controversial posts.
“Protecting social media users’ right to free speech is a core principle for the Oversight Board,” McConnell said in a statement. “Platforms should be a place where political debate and discussion can flourish, particularly during elections, protests, and other social movements. The Board will continue holding Meta accountable to ensure its policies and enforcement are applied fairly.”
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The ruling comes more than a month after Meta’s board declared that the anti-Israel slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is not hate speech. The board argued that certain uses of the slogan can express “solidarity with Palestinians” without “calling for violence or exclusion.”
A pro-Palestinian activist holds up a sign reading “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” during a sit-down protest inside Charing Cross railway station in London to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. (Getty Images)
The ruling pertained to three separate uses of the phrase in posts on Facebook, and the board noted that none of the posts “glorify or even refer to Hamas.”
“In upholding Meta’s decisions to keep up the content, the majority of the Board notes the phrase has multiple meanings and is used by people in various ways and with different intentions,” the board’s announcement reads.
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The decision conflicted with certain groups who argue the phrase is inherently antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) notes on its website that the phrase inherently calls for the removal of the state of Israel.