Platforms need to make reforms to their current system and actually take hate speech seriously. According to instagram/facebook rules, they "do not allow hate speech because it creates an enviroment of intimidation and exclusion and in some cases may promote real world violence." I know the definition of hate speech in unclear in genderal but in this case, Facebook/Instagram states in their rules that "it is never ok to attack someone based on their sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation." Therefore they have just stated that homophobia and transphobia is not allowed on their platforms and yet about 75% of the time people are being told that homophobia and transphobia doesn't go against their guidelines. I have personally been attacked because of my non binary identity and have recieved the lovely message that the attack doesn't go against their guidelines. Also, I'd like to bring up hate groups. According to instagram/Facebook rules, their platforms are "not a place to praise terrorism, organized crime or hate groups." They say this but there are anti lgbt groups out there who post hateful things and if you report them, it doesn't go against their guidelines when clearly it does. I have seen pages that use the "f" word slur (the one for gay people) in their bios. I have reported them and have been told it doesn't go against their policies. If you make a comment with the "f" word slur, it is removed from the platform. The same rules should apply to accounts who go out of their way to use the "f" word slur in their bios to attack the LGBT community. Facebook/Instagram also claim that they "want to foster a positive, and safe community." The also claim they "remove hate speech." and about half the time this simply isn't true. Their closing statement is "We created the community guidelines so you can help us foster and protect this amazing community. We're committed to these guidlines and hope you are too." How can they expect anyone to take their guidelines seriously if they don't even take them seriously themselves? This is a wake up call to all platforms. We need them to start taking their own guidelines seriously and PROTECT US!
