© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Facebook accidentally rolls out feature to flag any post as 'hate speech'
May 01, 2018
On Tuesday, Facebook accidentally made public an internal test feature that asks users if posts they see on their newsfeeds contain "hate speech."
In what appeared to be a universal feature added to every Facebook account, a notification appeared below each post in an individual's timeline asking, "Does this post contain hate speech?" with "Yes" and "No" buttons. You could even report yourself:
Clicking on "Yes" opened a new window that presented users with more options, labeled as "tests."
Responding to a request for comment from Conservative Review, a spokesman for Facebook said that “this was an internal test we were working on to understand different types of speech, including speech we thought would not be hate. A bug caused it to launch publicly. It's been disabled.”
Facebook Vice President of Product Guy Rosen explained further on Twitter.
Recently, Facebook has faced criticism from conservatives for censoring speech, manipulating user news feeds, and suppressing certain stories as "spam."
The ability of each user to flag a post as "hate speech" and alert Facebook's censors set off alarm bells.
The notifications no longer appear below Facebook posts.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include reaction from Facebook users.
Conservative Review's Rob Eno contributed to this report.
#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px}
/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.
We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */
Want to leave a tip?
We answer to you. Help keep our content free of advertisers and big tech censorship by leaving a tip today.
Want to join the conversation?
Already a subscriber?
more stories
Sign up for the Blaze newsletter
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content that may sometimes include advertisements. You may opt out at any time.
© 2024 Blaze Media LLC. All rights reserved.
Get the stories that matter most delivered directly to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content that may sometimes include advertisements. You may opt out at any time.