Facebook is planning to remove content that would ‘Praise, celebrate or mock’ the death of George Floyd as the trial of former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, heads to jury deliberations.
The social media company published a press release Monday which said “Under our policies, we will remove content that praises, celebrates or mocks George Floyd’s death.”
“Our teams are working around the clock to look for potential threats both on and off of Facebook and Instagram so we can protect peaceful protests and limit content that could lead to civil unrest or violence,” the statement continued.
Facebook to ramp up content moderation ahead of Chauvin trial verdict https://t.co/Yx9T4vgH3s pic.twitter.com/tXpTkLjLPq
— The Hill (@thehill) April 19, 2021
The company is also planning to delete attacks against Chauvin that would be considered “severe,” and would apply “higher levels of protection” regarding the content around his death, due to his status as an “involuntary” public figure. (RELATED: ‘Get More Active’: Maxine Waters Calls On Daunte Wright Protesters To Show The World That They ‘Mean Business’)
Steps would also be taken to “limit misinformation” by using several tools to flag posts that would be independently reviewed by fact-checkers. Tools would also mark content it deemed graphic as “disturbing or sensitive.”
Facebook reveals 7-point plan for the Derek Chauvin Trial Verdict https://t.co/X7uso79JgL
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) April 19, 2021
“We know this trial has been painful for many people,” the company said. “We want to strike the right balance between allowing people to speak about the trial and what the verdict means, while still doing our part to protect everyone’s safety.”
Several cities are planning for the verdict, with Los Angeles officials planning to call on the National Guard to enforce security if violence erupts following the verdict announcement.