Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has updated its hate speech guidelines to permit users to label LGBTQ people as mentally ill.
The new guidelines, released on Tuesday, state that allegations of mental illness based on gender or sexual orientation are allowed due to political and religious discourse.
“We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like ‘weird,’” Meta’s revised guidelines stated.
GLAAD, a prominent LGBTQ advocacy group, has strongly criticized the changes, with President Sarah Kate Ellis stating that Meta is enabling harmful rhetoric against marginalized groups for profit.
“Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives.” the statement read.
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