Facebook

We aim to prevent potential offline harm that may be related to content on Facebook. While we understand that people commonly express disdain or disagreement by threatening or calling for violence in non-serious ways, we remove language that incites or facilitates serious violence. We remove content, disable accounts, and work with law enforcement when we believe there is a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety. We also try to consider the language and context in order to distinguish casual statements from content that constitutes a credible threat to public or personal safety. In determining whether a threat is credible, we may also consider additional information like a person's public visibility and the risks to their physical safety.

In some cases, we see aspirational or conditional threats directed at terrorists and other violent actors (e.g. Terrorists deserve to be killed), and we deem those non credible absent specific evidence to the contrary.

Threats that could lead to death (and other forms of high-severity violence) targeting people or places where threat is defined as any of the following:

Statements of intent to commit high-severity violence; or
Calls for high-severity violence including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target and/or includes a visual of an armament to represent violence; or
Statements advocating for high-severity violence; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit high-severity violence

Content that asks or offers services for hire to kill others (for example, hitmen, mercenaries, assassins) or advocates for the use of a hitman, mercenary or assassin against a target.

Admissions, statements of intent or advocacy, calls to action, or aspirational or conditional statements to kidnap a target.

Threats that lead to serious injury (mid-severity violence) towards private individuals, unnamed specified persons, minor public figures, high risk persons, or high risk groups where threat is defined as any of the following:

Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Statements advocating violence; or
Calls for mid-severity violence including content where no target is specified but a symbol represents the target; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence; or
Content about other target(s) apart from private individuals, minor public figures, high risk persons, or high risk groups and any credible:
Statements of intent to commit violence; or
Calls for action of violence; or
Statements advocating for violence; or
Aspirational or conditional statements to commit violence

Threats that lead to physical harm (or other forms of lower-severity violence) towards private individuals (self-reporting required) or minor public figures where threat is defined as any of the following:

Private individuals (name and/or face match are required) or minor public figures that includes:
Statements of intent, calls for action, advocating, aspirational or conditional statements to commit low-severity violence

Imagery of private individuals or minor public figures that has been manipulated to include threats of violence either in text or pictorial (adding bulls eye, dart, gun to head, etc.)

Content that exposes the identity or locations affiliated with any individual who is alleged to be a member of a designated and recognizable at-risk group, share familial and/or romantic relationships with a member of an at-risk group or have performed professional activities in support of an at-risk group (except for political figures).

Instructions on how to make or use weapons if there’s evidence of a goal to seriously injure or kill people, through:

Language explicitly stating that goal, or
Photos or videos that show or simulate the end result (serious injury or death) as part of the instruction
Unless the aforementioned content is shared as part of recreational self defense, for military training purposes, commercial video games, or news coverage (posted by Page or with news logo)

Providing instructions on how to make or use explosives:

Unless there is clear context that the content is for a non-violent purpose (for example part of commercial video games, clear scientific/educational purpose, fireworks, or specifically for fishing)

Any content containing statements of intent, calls for action, conditional or aspirational statements, or advocating for violence due to voting, voter registration, or the administration of outcome of an election

Statements of intent or advocacy, calls to action, or aspirational or conditional statements to bring weapons to locations, including but not limited to places of worship, educational facilities polling places, or locations used to count votes or administer an election ( or encouraging others to do the same).

Do not post:

Content that puts LGBTQI+ people at risk by revealing their sexual identity against their will or without permission
Content that puts unveiled women at risk by revealing their images without veil against their will or without permission
Violent threats against law enforcement officers
Violent threats against people accused of a crime. We remove this content when we have reason to believe that the content is intended to cause physical harm
Misinformation and unverifiable rumors that contribute to the risk of imminent violence or physical harm
Coded statements where the method of violence or harm is not clearly articulated, but the threat is veiled or implicit
Threats against election officials
Implicit statements of intent or advocacy, calls to action, or aspirational or conditional statements to bring armaments to locations, including but not limited to places of worship, educational facilities, polling places, or locations used to count votes or administer an election (or encouraging others to do the same). We may also restrict calls to bring armaments to certain locations where there are temporary signals of a heightened risk of violence or offline harm.