Purported Meta ban on use of offensive words on Facebook, false

By: Laymah Kollie

Image of Facebook logo. Photo credit: Crosscheckghana.

Claim: Meta has banned using “inappropriate and offensive words” on its platforms.

Verdict: FALSE. Checks by DUBAWA showed that Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has not made any such announcement. Also, the website that published the story about the purported ban on using offensive words on Facebook added a disclaimer that the post was intended for fun and not to be taken seriously by readers.

Full Text

A Facebook user, Patience Seimah, shared a post in a private group on Apr. 5, 2024, claiming Meta, the social technology company, has announced a ban on insults on its platforms.

“To all the Liberian talk show hosts, it’s about to be real, ma cuss, pa cuss, children cus, side chicks cus, will no longer be accepted on Facebook,” she wrote. The post was accompanied by a screenshot of an article titled “Meta announces a ban on cursing.”

At the time of this writing, the post had generated 27 reactions and 22 comments. In the comment session, commenters praised Meta for the steps taken and stressed that it would be a relief for social media users.

The post was also reshared on other platforms such as X, Instagram and other Facebook groups.

DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim as part of its campaign against misinformation and disinformation in Liberia.

Verification

DUBAWA visited the website that first published the story to find out the source of the purported ban. It was revealed that the post was part of the April fool prank usually done by some people on April 1 of every year.

A cursory look at the story disclosed a disclaimer placed on top of the title to tell readers that the story was meant for fun and not to be taken seriously.

“I mean, did yáll not see that author’s name? April Fools…,” the disclaimer reads.

According to History, April Fool’s Day is celebrated on April 1 of every year and the traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in on the subject of the April Fools’ Day prank.

We further conducted a Google keyword search and found no reputable media organisations worldwide published any story about the purported ban on “inappropriate and offensive words” on Facebook.

However, our fact-checker checked Meta’s website to see if the entity had recently published such a statement. Our Researcher found that the Institution has not made such a post or published such an article in recent times.

DUBAWA also contacted the claimant on messenger to substantiate the claim, but the claimant didn’t provide any response to the post and rather blocked our fact-checker.

Conclusion
Therefore, it is not true that Meta, a social technology company, has announced a ban on the use of inappropriate and offensive words on its platforms.