Meta Allows Mental Illness Allegations Based on Gender, Ends US Fact-Checking Program

Jan 9, 2025, 12:17 PM

Meta Platforms Inc. has revised its community standards, effective from January 7, 2025, allowing users to make allegations of mental illness or abnormality based on gender or sexual orientation. This change was announced by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who cited 'recent elections' as a catalyst for the policy shift. The updated guidelines permit discussions on political and religious grounds about transgenderism and homosexuality, and also allow for non-serious usage of terms like 'weird'. Additionally, Meta has removed restrictions on topics such as immigration and gender, aligning its policies with what it describes as 'mainstream discourse'. Critics and advocates for vulnerable groups express concern that these changes could lead to real-world harms, especially as Meta also plans to end its US fact-checking program and rely on user reports for content moderation.