Reclaimed Slurs Removal Shows Errors in Instagram Carousel Moderation
تم النشر بتاريخ 25 أَيْلُول 2025
The Oversight Board has raised concerns about repeated overenforcement arising from Meta’s practices that involve Instagram carousels. In this case of political speech critical of Argentina’s government and its policies’ social effects, part of a carousel containing multiple text images to form a political poem was incorrectly removed by Meta. Only one of the images, containing slurs, was assessed by moderators and therefore vital context missed.
So that full context can be considered, the Board recommends Meta ensure that moderators reviewing carousels are able to see all content within a carousel post before making a decision. The Board overturns Meta’s original decision to remove the content.
About the Case
In January 2025, days before protests against Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who had given a speech criticizing “radical feminism” and the “LGBT agenda,” an Instagram user posted a text-only image carousel. The words on the eight images form a poem that is broadly critical of Argentina’s government and of people’s apathy during a period when, according to the user, policy changes are impacting vulnerable groups. The poem appeals to readers to protest.
On the carousel’s second image, the text includes two slurs, “puto” and “trava,” used to refer to gay men and trans women, respectively. A day after the carousel was posted, Meta’s automated systems detected the second image and sent it to a human moderator, who decided it broke the Hateful Conduct rules. The moderator could not see the other seven images in the carousel. Only the second image was removed from Instagram, and a strike was applied against the user’s account. The user appealed to Meta. A second reviewer upheld the decision. The user then appealed to the Board.
When the Board selected the case, Meta reversed its original decision, restoring the second image to the carousel.
Key Findings
The Board found the content does not violate the Hateful Conduct policy because it qualifies for exceptions, allowing the use of slurs “to condemn or raise awareness” and in an “empowering” way. Meta’s eventual decision to restore the content was supported by the interpretation that the text condemns Milei’s government by employing terms often used in anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric. This interpretation is in line with how the Board has previously told Meta to assess content and exceptions to its policies. However, the Board highlights an additional crucial point: the post is condemning people’s indifference in the face of social, political and economic changes that the posting user thinks negatively impact certain vulnerable groups.
The slurs used in the post did not negatively target a particular individual or group but were invoked to criticize the Argentine government’s policies. They were used to advocate against social indifference to government measures impacting groups, including LGBTQIA+ people. Ahead of the October 2025 elections in Argentina, Meta must be mindful of ensuring political speech, including reclaimed speech, is not unnecessarily removed.
The Board notes it was virtually impossible in this case for the reviewer to determine the slurs were used in a permissible way, without having access to the full carousel of text images making up the poem. The Board is concerned about the possibility of repeated overenforcement resulting from reviewers not having access to full carousels when making enforcement decisions about specific carousel images, as happened in this case, and not being empowered to effectively assess intent. Users’ freedom of expression can be impacted when select content is removed from carousels in which speech unfolds over multiple images.
The Oversight Board’s Decision
The Board overturns Meta’s original decision to take down the content.
The Board recommends that Meta:
- Ensure that, when reviewing content within carousels, moderators are able to see all content within the post before making a decision, even when only one image is sent for human review.
- Develop an integrated process for ensuring that, when a content type is introduced or significantly updated, the company’s procedures and tooling allow for its moderation in line with the company’s human rights responsibilities.
Further Information
To read public comments for this case, click here.
