Unlike: The Facebook Rape Culture
8:18 AM
Most of us can admit to spending a shameful amount of time on one of the world's most populated social media website: Facebook. It has become a contemporary tool of projection and procrastination. Have to write a term paper? Just go on Facebook. Should make dinner? Nahhh, just go on Facebook. It's okay, admit it - we've all done it.
While most of us utilize Facebook to stay in touch with friends stalk the people we lost touch with from high school (I can't believe they're dating!!), there are lots of other, ever-popular, uses for Facebook like hate speech and threatening imagery.
A new online campaign has brought awareness not just to the content of some Facebook pages but also, and more importantly, to Facebook's own policies in addressing them. Facebook's moderation policy has been under fire the past few weeks as members of the Facebook "community" have taken a stand against the the Facebook rape culture.
Images and commentary of rape, and sexual assault are rampant on pages deemed "humor" by Facebook's policy. Some pro-rape pages (to which Facebook has said a big LOL) have more than 100,000 'likes'.
Ever-popular Memes have translated into this realm of "humor," tag lines inclusive of rape, incest, abuse, and the ever popular "slipped this b*tch a roofie" and of course pictures are included.
From the first 'like' on Facebook, the moderation policies have been responsible for policing content with obscene images or language. While the newest campaign has brought an outstanding awareness of the failures of Facebook's policies - this is not a new fight.
Over a year ago, a representative of Facebook told the BBC:
“It is very important to point out that what one person finds offensive another can find entertaining, just as telling a rude joke won’t get you thrown out of your local pub, it won’t get you thrown off Facebook”
This sense of humor is now under fire. A new hashtag has been developed to bring attention to images like those above and the tolerance for them by Facebook. #FBrape isn't just being used to draw attention to the pages on Facebook, it's being used to hit Facebook (or any other publicly traded company) where it hurts - their wallet.
Facebook members and fans, are using their important role as consumers to use the hashtag to reach out to businesses that advertise on Facebook. Fans are asking companies to pull their advertisements until Facebook pulls the content.
The good news: it's working. Facebook and been inundated with demands and criticism for better quality control, forcing Facebook to change their tune, on the way they monitor such content and the outdated criteria that has allowed them to "pass" these images and content along.
A word of advice Facebook: if you tell a joke properly, we should both be laughing.
0 comments