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Violent and Graphic Content
Policy details
Change log
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May 26, 2018
Policy Rationale
To protect users from disturbing imagery, we remove content that is particularly violent or graphic, such as videos depicting dismemberment, visible innards or charred bodies. We also remove content that contains sadistic remarks towards imagery depicting the suffering of humans and animals.
In the context of discussions about important issues such as human rights abuses, armed conflicts or acts of terrorism, we allow graphic content (with some limitations) to help people to condemn and raise awareness about these situations.
We know that people have different sensitivities with regard to graphic and violent imagery. For that reason, we add a warning label to some graphic or violent imagery so that people are aware it may be sensitive before they click through. We also restrict the ability for users under 18 to view such content.
Do not post:
Imagery of people
Videos of people or dead bodies in non-medical settings if they depict
- Dismemberment.
- Visible internal organs; partially decomposed bodies.
- Charred or burning people unless in the context of cremation or self-immolation when that action is a form of political speech or newsworthy.
- Victims of cannibalism.
- Throat-slitting.
Live streams of capital punishment of a person
Sadistic Remarks
- Sadistic remarks towards imagery that is deleted or put behind a warning screen under this policy, unless there is a self-defense context or explicit educational context in a medical setting.
- Sadistic remarks towards imagery of one or more persons subjected to violence and/or humiliating acts by one or more uniformed personnel doing a police function.
- Offering or soliciting imagery that is deleted or put behind a warning screen under this policy, when accompanied by sadistic remarks.
- Explicit sadistic remarks towards the suffering of animals depicted in the imagery.
For the following content, we include a warning screen so that people are aware the content may be disturbing. We also limit the ability to view the content to adults, ages 18 and older:
Imagery of people
Videos of people or dead bodies in a medical setting if they depict:
- Dismemberment.
- Visible internal organs; partially decomposed bodies.
- Charred or burning people, including cremation or self-immolation when that action is a form of political speech or newsworthy.
- Victims of cannibalism.
- Throat-slitting.
Photos of wounded or dead people if they show:
- Dismemberment.
- Visible internal organs; partially decomposed bodies.
- Charred or burning people.
- Victims of cannibalism.
- Throat-slitting.
Imagery that shows the violent death of a person or people by accident or murder
Imagery that shows capital punishment of a person
Imagery that shows acts of torture committed against a person or people
Imagery of non-medical foreign objects (such as metal objects, knives, nails) involuntarily inserted or stuck into people causing grievous injury
Imagery of animals
The following content involving animals:
- Videos depicting humans killing animals if there is no explicit manufacturing, hunting, food consumption, processing or preparation context.
- Imagery of animal to animal fights, when there are visible innards or dismemberment of non-regenerating body, unless in the wild.
- Imagery of humans committing acts of torture or abuse against live animals.
- Imagery of animals showing wounds or cuts that render visible innards or dismemberment, if there is no explicit manufacturing, hunting, taxidermy, medical treatment, rescue or food consumption, preparation or processing context, or the animal is already skinned or with its outer layer fully removed.
For the following content, we include a label so that people are aware the content may be sensitive:
Imagery of non-medical foreign objects voluntarily inserted into people through skin in religious or cultural context
Imagery of visible innards in a birthing context
Imagery of fetuses and newborn babies that show:
- Dismemberment.
- Visible innards.
- An abortion or abandonment context.
Imagery of newborn babies in an abandonment context
Imagery of animals in a ritual slaughter context showing dismemberment, or visible innards, or charring or burning
For the following Community Standards, we require additional information and/or context to enforce:
We remove:
- Videos and photos that show the violent death of someone when a family member requests its removal.
- Videos of violent death of humans where the violent death is not visible in the video but the audio is fully or partially captured and the death is confirmed by either a law enforcement record, death certificate, Trusted Partner report or media report.
User experiencesSee some examples of what enforcement looks like for people on Facebook, such as: what it looks like to report something you don’t think should be on Facebook, to be told you’ve violated our Community Standards and to see a warning screen over certain content.
Note: We’re always improving, so what you see here may be slightly outdated compared to what we currently use.
DataPrevalence
Percentage of times people saw violating content
Content actioned
Number of pieces of violating content we took action on
Proactive rate
Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it
Appealed content
Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it
Restored content
Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it
Prevalence
Percentage of times people saw violating content
Content actioned
Number of pieces of violating content we took action on
Proactive rate
Percentage of violating content we found before people reported it
Appealed content
Number of pieces of content people appealed after we took action on it
Restored content
Number of pieces of content we restored after we originally took action on it
Reporting
1
Universal entry point
We have an option to report, whether it’s on a post, a comment, a story, a message or something else.
2
Get started
We help people report things that they don’t think should be on our platform.
3
Select a problem
We ask people to tell us more about what’s wrong. This helps us send the report to the right place.
4
Report submitted
After these steps, we submit the report. We also lay out what people should expect next.
Post-report communication
1
Update via notifications
After we’ve reviewed the report, we’ll send the reporting user a notification.
2
More detail in the Support Inbox
We’ll share more details about our review decision in the Support Inbox. We’ll notify people that this information is there and send them a link to it.
3
Appeal option
If people think we got the decision wrong, they can request another review.
4
Post-appeal communication
We’ll send a final response after we’ve re-reviewed the content, again to the Support Inbox.
Takedown experience
1
Immediate notification
When someone posts something that violates our Community Standards, we’ll tell them.
2
Additional context
We’ll also address common misperceptions around enforcement.
3
Explain the policy
We’ll give people easy to understand explanations about why their content was removed.
4
Ask for input
After we’ve established the context for our decision and explained our policy, we’ll ask people what they'd like to do next, including letting us know if they think we made a mistake.
5
Tell us more
If people disagree with the decision, we’ll ask them to tell us more.
6
Set expectations
Here, we set expectations on what will happen next.
Enforcement
We have the same policies around the world, for everyone on Facebook.
Review teams
Our global team of over 15,000 reviewers work every day to keep people on Facebook safe.
Stakeholder engagement
Outside experts, academics, NGOs and policymakers help inform the Facebook Community Standards.
Get help with violent and graphic contentLearn what you can do if you see something on Facebook that goes against our Community Standards.
