Meta employees have been expressing outrage over recent content moderation changes allowing users to claim LGBTQ+ identities are “mental illnesses.” CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced the controversial move as part of a broader shift toward “free expression.” LGBTQ+ employees have been reportedly feeling particularly unsupported and demoralized.
On January 7, Meta, the company that owns and operates social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, announced a series of major updates to its content moderation policies.
Alongside the announcement, Meta updated its Community Guidelines, which set rules for content allowed across its platforms.
Notable changes were made to the “Hateful Conduct” policy, particularly on topics like immigration and gender.
Meta now says it allows “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,’” Wired reported earlier this month.
As a result, Meta employees have been reportedly left furious. “I am LGBT and Mentally Ill,” one post by an employee on an internal Meta platform called Workplace read, 404 Media reported on January 9.
“Just to let you know that I’ll be taking time out to look after my mental health,” the post further outlined.
Another thread on Meta’s internal Workplace site that has several hundred comments and more than a thousand reactions read: “[feedback] Sexual Orientation and Gender as a mental illness … I’d appreciate some more detail on:
“How the decision was made to update the policy, particularly given this does not reflect any mainstream scientific consensus; How the policy reflects our values and perspectives as a company, and whether these are different to the values we’ve expressed in the past; Who (if any) LGBT groups [internal or external] were consulted as part of this change.”
Ben Good, the head of Americas for the Core Policy Team at Meta, told employees in the thread that “our core values have not changed,” 404 Media reported.
Recent content moderation changes allowing users to claim LGBTQ+ identities are “mental illnesses” sparked fury
He further wrote: “The changes to our Hateful Conduct policy seek to undo the mission creep that has made our rules too restrictive and too prone to over enforcement.
“Reaffirming our core value of free expression means that we might see content on our platforms that people find offensive … yesterday’s changes not only open up conversation about these subjects, but allow for counterspeech on what matters to users.”
Current Meta employees reportedly revealed that many fellow workers were angered about the policy changes.
“It’s total chaos internally at Meta right now,” one current employee told 404 Media.
They added: “The entire thread of comments shared is dissent toward the new policy, save for one leader repeating Zuckerberg’s talking points.
“I’d call the mood shock and disbelief. It’s embarrassment and shame that feels self-inflicted, different than mistakes the company has made in the past.”
Another employee said: “No one is excited or happy about these changes.
“And obviously the employees who identify as being part of the LGBTQ+ community are especially unhappy and feel the most unsupported in this.
“A small number of people are taking time off and are sharing that they are considering leaving the company due to this change.”
A separate worker told 404 Media: “Morale of fellow queer employees is in the absolute sh*tter, surprising no one.”
In the thread obtained by 404 Media, Meta workers reportedly said they could not find information about how the policy was created and who was consulted, as a person asked: “Did we miss a Policy Forum where we could hear the results of any research supporting this change and opinions of all?”
To which a person replied, “I looked for one and couldn’t find it either.”
Another employee wrote: “Can the policy team also address why the company did not have a response prepared for something that would clearly have such a significant impact internally and externally on employees/users who fall into these categories?”
A worker reportedly expressed: “Changes to Meta’s policy should be done thoughtfully, with considerable consultation from policy analysts, lawyers, and other subject matter experts.
“Those changes should have documented rationale, preferably available publicly.
“At the very least, Meta should be able to tell company employees why it is now acceptable to call a large number of them mentally ill or to refer to them as ‘property’ or to refer to them as ‘it.’”