New research from the Center for Countering Digital Hate reveals that abusive and racist comments targeting US politicians on Facebook tripled in the six months after Meta relaxed its content moderation rules in 2025. The study analyzed 8 million comments and found even steeper increases in violent threats and hate speech, which quadrupled during this period. The report highlights specific examples of racist and gendered abuse directed at lawmakers that remained on the platform despite violating previous moderation standards.
Background
In 2025, Meta significantly relaxed its content moderation policies, claiming previous rules had been too restrictive and limited legitimate political discourse. This policy shift came amid ongoing debates about free speech versus harmful content on social media platforms.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Jun 10, 2026 at 09:31 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10