The online magazine Gawker has managed to get hold of Facebook’s mysterious moderation guidelines. And it appears that the world’s largest social network has a few strange ideas about what’s acceptable and what’s not.
The guidelines, released to Facebook’s outsourced moderation teams around the world, have a distinctly American moral bias, where sex and nudity is grossly offensive, but the odd bit of gory horror is absolutely fine.
It also states just how much abuse can be levelled at public figures (Paul McCartney is their example) and politicians (Barack Obama) before things should be moderated, and explains the difference between bullying and humour.
We’ve listed some of the banned and allowed content below, so you can get an idea of just what you should and shouldn’t be posting to your social network profiles. And some of it may surprise you…
The full leaked document has been made available here. (Warning: Contains some explicit written content)
What’s Banned:
- Breastfeeding photos
- Drunk people with things drawn on their faces
- Photos comparing two people (or an animal and a person that resembles them)
- Maps of Kurdistan
- Cartoon nudity
- “Nipple bulges” and “Moose knuckles”
What’s Allowed:
- Any depiction of marijuana use… unless the poster is selling, buying or growing it
- Hate speech/racism (as long as it’s in an obviously humorous context)
- Graphic images of animals being mutilated (in the context of food processing or hunting)
- Deep flesh wounds and excessive blood
- Crushed heads, limbs, etc (as long as no insides are showing)
So, next time you’re on Facebook, remember this: Pictures of a pot-smoking racist comedian with a smashed-in skull should be fine, but don’t you dare draw anything on your drunken friend’s face!
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At a guess, they are just applying the sort of standards US networks apply to TV. Remember the hilarious indignation around Nipplegate?