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Andrea Austria/Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

Media Matters and GLAAD found 100 Meta posts containing anti-trans slur

We used Meta’s user reporting systems to alert the company about the bigoted content it is hosting, but Meta did not remove the content

Special Programs LGBTQ

Written by Shelby Jamerson

Research contributions from Carly Evans & Kayla Gogarty

Published

This study was completed with Leanna Garfield, program manager of GLAAD’s Social Media Safety Program.

Content warning: This article contains numerous examples of bigoted rhetoric.

A new Media Matters and GLAAD analysis has found that Meta is seemingly failing to enforce its own hate speech policy, which prohibits “the usage of slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of their protected characteristics," including gender identity. The analysis identified at least 100 posts since March 2023 on Meta’s platforms — including Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — that contain the anti-trans slur “tr*nny” (characterized by the Cambridge English dictionary as “an extremely offensive word for a person who is transgender”). After reaching 100 posts with the slur, and reporting some of the content, it became clear that Meta is not adequately enforcing its hate speech policy to protect users.

Key findings include:

  • Media Matters and GLAAD identified at least 100 posts on Meta’s platforms since March 2023 that contain the anti-trans slur “tr*nny.” We found the slur (or its plural form) used in images, headlines, text, and audio content posted on the platforms from 2023 and 2024. 
  • Media Matters and GLAAD reported 23 of the seemingly violative posts using the company’s user reporting systems. Of the 23 posts, Meta responded that it “did not remove” 22 of the reported posts, and 1 has been pending since March 11.
  • Our analysis identified content with the slur across Meta’s platforms, including 75 posts on Facebook, 18 posts on Instagram, and 7 posts on Threads. As of the time of this article’s publication, all but eight of the posts are still live on the platforms.
  • Steve Deace, Media Research Center, Charlie Kirk, The New American, Teddy Daniels, and Donald Trump Jr. posted content targeting the trans community. Many of these right-leaning accounts were repeat offenders, posting potentially violative content three or more times.
  • Of the posts we found, 14 were posted in April 2023, when right-wing media launched a boycott against Bud Light for partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. 

  • Meta’s policies seemingly prohibit content that targets LGBTQ people, but the company has repeatedly failed at enforcing these standards

  • Meta’s Community Standards include a policy against slurs that are used to attack people on the basis of gender identity, a protected characteristic. According to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads hate speech policies, users should not post “content that describes or negatively targets people with slurs,” which the company defines as “words that inherently create an atmosphere of exclusion and intimidation against people on the basis of a protected characteristic.” 

    Meta has a history of failing to consistently apply these policies, apparently profiting, for instance, off hundreds of ads containing the baseless “groomer” slur and allowing hate speech to proliferate on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Despite confirmation from Meta that the anti-LGBTQ “groomer” rhetoric violates its hate speech policies, Media Matters previously found over 200 Meta ads using the anti-LGBTQ slur. After review, the company removed only 47 of those ads. On Threads, Media Matters identified dozens of pieces of content with the “groomer” slur and found that Meta had apparently even reinstated a post that was previously removed as “hate speech.” 

    A March 2024 report from GLAAD also found that Meta is failing to moderate extreme anti-trans hate across its platforms. After GLAAD reported via Meta’s user reporting systems dozens of pieces of seemingly violative content targeting trans people (characterizing them — in apparent violation of Meta policies — as demons, mentally ill, or terrorists; promoting violence against them; and utilizing slurs), Meta either replied that posts were not violative or simply did not take action on them.

  • Our latest analysis has found that Meta is failing to protect the safety of users and consistently failing to enforce policies against a hateful slur

  • Meta is seemingly failing to enforce its standards against hate speech across its platforms. Our analysis identified 75 posts on Facebook, 18 Instagram posts, and 7 Threads posts using the anti-trans slur “tr*nny” (or its plural form) in the images, text, or audio of the posts. 

    Notably, 14 pieces of content using the slur were posted in April 2023 when right-wing figures organized a Bud Light boycott for partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. According to the data we collected, that month had the largest amount of content using the slur. The majority of content identified did not directly reference Mulvaney or Bud Light, instead using the slur to describe trans people in general.

  • Dylan Mulvaney is in a white tank top appearing to be jumping in a Nike ad campaign. The Media Research Center used the image in a Facebook post for an article on, "Nike is following Bud Light's lead in promoting Dylan Mulvaney." The article's lede reads, "Shortly after Bud Light became the new tr---- fluid, Nike Women has switched it's promotion...

  • Meta reviewed content we flagged as containing this anti-trans slur and rejected almost all of our reports

  • We used Meta’s user reporting systems to report 23 pieces of content with the slur across its platform. The company responded that it “did not remove” the content we reported in 22 of these cases (though two are no longer available), with the company noting that it uses “a combination of technology and human reviewers to process reports and identify content that goes against our Community Standards.” At time of publication, one request is still pending a decision, several months after we reported it. 

  • We didn't remove the post thanks again for your report. This information helps us reduce unwanted content for you and others. We use a combination of technology and human reviewers to process reports and identify content that goes against our Community Standards. In this case, we did not remove the content you reported...

  • Here are examples of content that Meta did not remove for violating its policies and that uses the slur and promotes hateful narratives about trans people, including characterizations of trans people as “freaks:”

  • content using anti trans slur tr*nny

  • Right-wing accounts were frequent offenders, sometimes posting the slur three or more times

  • Much of the potentially violative content we found was posted by right-wing figures, organizations, and media, including repeat offenders who posted content using the slur three or more times. This bigoted content targeted individuals for participating in sports, a gender-inclusive Lyft driver program, and trans healthcare. Other content attacked individuals for their appearance, and policies for including trans people in guaranteed income programs. 

    Right-wing figures, organizations, and media posting the slur included: 
     

  • BlazeTV host Steve Deace

  • Steve Deace with Don Trump Jr using the anti-trans slur

  • Conservative media watchdog Media Research Center

  • MRC content using anti-trans slur

  • Right-wing influencer and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk

  • Charlie Kirk content with anti-trans slur

  • Right-wing subsidiary of the John Birch Society, The New American

  • The New American Magazine using anti-trans slur

  • Right-wing host Teddy Daniels

  • Content promoting Teddy Daniels' show using anti-trans slur

  • Right-wing Rumble host Donald Trump Jr.

  • Donald Trump Jr content using the anti-trans slur

  • Meta states in its policies that hate speech “creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion, and in some cases may promote offline violence.” As harassment and attacks against LGBTQ people escalate nationwide, research from both Media Matters and GLAAD indicates that Meta’s refusal to protect marginalized groups from extreme hate may have real-world consequences.