One of Britain’s largest anti-racism organisations, Stand Up to Racism, revealed on Wednesday that its Facebook page had been taken down for allegedly violating the platform’s community
standards on impersonation. However, the page was later reinstated after the removal was deemed a mistake.
Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, confirmed that the page had been removed in error and has since been restored.
In a statement, Stand Up to Racism explained that the removal followed a post they shared regarding a controversial hand gesture made by Elon Musk during a celebration of former President Donald Trump’s inauguration. The post sparked debate and, according to the organisation, led to the page’s suspension.
This incident comes amid broader changes at Meta, which recently scrapped its U.S. fact-checking programme and eased restrictions on discussions of topics like immigration and gender identity, opting instead for a Community Notes model.
A screenshot shared by Stand Up to Racism revealed the notification they received from Facebook. The message stated: “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 this is disappointing, but we want to keep Facebook safe and welcoming for everyone.”
Stand Up to Racism attributed the removal to its post about Musk. The organisation had posted an image of Musk making a gesture during an event in Washington, which some compared to a Nazi salute. Musk, the billionaire CEO and known ally of Trump, dismissed the accusations, calling them a “tired” trope: “The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” he remarked.
In their Facebook post, Stand Up to Racism suggested that Musk’s gesture could embolden fascists, sparking significant online discussion before the page’s temporary removal.
The reinstatement of the organisation’s page highlights ongoing challenges faced by social media platforms in moderating content while balancing freedom of expression and community safety. Photo by Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Wikimedia commons.