Facebook Asks Users, 'Does This Post Contain Hate Speech?'
MENLO PARK, Calif. (CBS) -- Is Facebook stepping up its efforts to combat hate speech?
On Tuesday morning, many users reported seeing a prompt beneath every Facebook post on their News Feed asking if the post contained hate speech.
Some noted that it appeared to be a bug on Facebook's part, offering "test" options to people who clicked yes. The message apparently disappeared for many Facebook users within an hour.
Just last week, Facebook shared its updated community standards "to encourage expression and create a safe environment."
"We define hate speech as a direct attack on people based on what we call protected characteristics — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, and serious disability or disease," Facebook said.
Here's how some on social media reacted to the hate speech prompt while it lasted:
Facebook is now asking people if posts on their feed "contain hate speech." Just imagine how abused this is going to be in a world that believes disagreement is hate?
— Kimberly Ross ???????????????? (@SouthernKeeks) May 1, 2018
Facebook now giving users the option to mark every post on Facebook as hate speech. Given how much increased radicalized content I've seen on that platform over the past month or so my initial reaction is that this isn't a bad thing. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/DfTSmFAYI8
— Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) May 1, 2018
Facebook is holding its "F8" conference on Tuesday, and CEO Mark Zuckberg said he plans "to share more about the work we're doing to keep people safe."