In London on January 22, Stand Up to Racism, one of Britain's major anti-racism organizations, announced that its Facebook page had undergone a temporary shutdown due to an alleged violation of the platform's community standards on impersonation. However, the page was later reinstated. Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook, clarified that the removal was a mistake and promptly restored the page.
The incident occurred after Stand Up to Racism shared a post regarding a comment made by Elon Musk during an event celebrating President Donald Trump's inauguration. In response to this situation, the organization stated that the specific reason for the removal was not provided, yet they believe it was linked to their post concerning Musk.
Meanwhile, Meta recently made adjustments to their U.S. fact-checking program, loosening restrictions on discussions related to mainstream topics like immigration and gender identity, shifting towards a Community Notes model instead. A Facebook notification to Stand Up to Racism cited, "We've reviewed your page again. We've confirmed that it does not follow our community standards on impersonation. As a result, we've removed your page. We know that this is disappointing, but we want to keep Facebook safe and welcoming for everyone."
Elon Musk's recent hand gesture at a Washington event has drawn comparisons to a Nazi salute. Musk, known as the world's wealthiest individual and a supporter of Trump, responded to the criticism by stating, "The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired." In response, Stand Up to Racism, an advocate against racism, posted a picture of Musk's gesture on Facebook, suggesting it might embolden "every fascist."