Facebook and Instagram are being criticized by users for its censoring of posts saying ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ – and Meta is blaming it on ‘incorrect enforcement.’
People are flooding the internet with their distaste after learning status updates and Stories with the the statement are being flagged and deleted.
Many note that both social media platforms allow the sale of guns, painkillers and marijuana, but not ‘pills that save women’s lives.’
DailyMail.com spoke with Andy Stone, Meta’s communication director, via email about why the content was removed, but was only given a link to a tweet he published yesterday as a response.
The tweet states that Meta ‘discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting them.’
Stone’s tweet also notes: ‘Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, gift, request or donate pharmaceuticals is not allowed. Content that discusses the affordability and accessibility of prescription medication is allowed.
‘We’ve discovered some instances of incorrect enforcement and are correcting these.’
DailyMail.com asked Stone which one ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ falls under – is the statement allowed or not allowed – and has yet to receive a response.
DailyMail.com conducted its own investigation into Facebook and posted ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ as a status
Users flocked to Twitter to share their frustrations regarding Meta’s censorship.
One user, who goes by the name ‘Fed Up Republican, posted: Post on Facbook abut selling guns? Sure. Post about selling Marijuana? No problem. Post about helping women obtain legal abortion pills? Nope.’
While another user also slammed Facebook for allowing the sale of weed and guns.
‘facebook and instagram delete posts about selling and delivering abortion pills but leave up posts with the same exact wording except they are for weed ad guns. mark zuckerberg gladly f**ks ovr women once more,’ they tweeted.
DailyMail.com spoke with Andy Stone, Meta’s communication director, via email about status updates and Stories that contain the statement and were removed, but was only given a link to a tweet he published yesterday (pictured) as a response
People are flooding the internet with their distaste after learning status updates and Stories with the the statement are being flagged and deleted
Only ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ triggers consequences on the social media platforms. Posting ‘abortion pills’ and ‘mifepristone’ are not flagged as breaking Meta’s Community Guidelines
And others are testing it out for themselves.
A user named ‘Phil’ shared a screen shot of his banned post that reads: ‘Abortion pills can be mailed. I will mail to them anyone who needs them.’
‘Seems Facebook is banning anyone who wants to help a woman make her own choices. I replaced abortion pills with painkiller pills and no removal,’ he shared in the accompanied tweet.
DailyMail.com conducted its own investigate on Monday and posted ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ as a status and Story.
In less than one minute, a notification appeared saying the posts go against the platform’s Community Standards on drugs.
The restrictions come just days after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which now means states have the power to ban abortions
A user named ‘Phil’ shared a screen shot of his banned post that reads: ‘Abortion pills can be mailed. I will mail to them anyone who needs them’
Only ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ triggers consequences on the social media platforms.
Posting ‘abortion pills’ and ‘mifepristone’ are not flagged as breaking Meta’s Community Guidelines – Stone has yet to comment on the discrepancies.
The removal and limitation of posts regarding abortion pills was uncovered by NBC and Motherboard on Monday.
The restrictions come just days after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which now means states have the power to ban abortions.
As first reported on by NBC, Instagram has deleted and limited at least two hashtags: ‘abortion pills’ and ‘mifepristone.’
Facebook is removing posts and even temporarily blocking users from their accounts for saying abortion pills can be mailed, according to Motherboard.
However, only ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ triggers consequences on the social media platforms. Posting ‘abortion pills’ and ‘mifepristone’ are not flagged as breaking Meta’s Community Guidelines – Stone has yet to comment on the discrepancies
DailyMail.com conducted its own investigate on into Facebook and posted ‘abortion pills can be mailed’ as a status.
In less than one minute, a notification appeared saying the post goes against the platform’s Community Standards on drugs.
And the same restriction occurred when the statement was posted as a Story in Instagram.
The Instagram hashtags include a warning at the top that notes the tags ‘are hidden because some posts may not follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines.
NBC notes that it is not clear exactly when Instagram began limiting the two hashtags and nor is it clear what guidelines have been violated.
You can see some of the images that may have been deleted while scrolling through the two hashtags.
For instance, one of the first images is timestamped for June 7, 2022 and just three posts after shows an image that was shared on September 15, 2020.
The huge time gap makes it obvious that posts have been deleted from the hashtag.
Facebook notes its standards on drugs prohibits the buying and selling of medical and non-medical drugs, which it claims is why it quickly removed the post ‘abortion pills can be mailed.’
However, putting ‘painkillers can be mailed’ did not trigger a warning and was allowed to stay on the platform.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court held in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion.
Instagram has deleted and limited at least two hashtags: ‘abortion pills’ and ‘mifepristone’
The 6-3 ruling authored by Justice Samuel Alito upended nearly 50 years of precedent and sparked massive protests nationwide.
In the post-Roe world, eighteen states already banned abortion and more may follow suit.
The Instagram hashtags include a warning at the top that notes the tags ‘are hidden because some posts may not follow Instagram’s Community Guidelines.
NBC notes that it is not clear exactly when Instagram began limiting the two hashtags and nor is it clear what guidelines have been violated.
You can see some of the images that may have been deleted while scrolling through the two hashtags.
For instance, one of the first images is timestamped for June 7, 2022 and just three posts after shows an image that was shared on September 15, 2020.
The huge time gap makes it obvious that posts have been deleted from the hashtag.
Facebook notes its standards on drugs prohibits the buying and selling of medical and non-medical drugs, which it claims is why it quickly removed the post ‘abortion pills can be mailed.’
However, putting ‘painkillers can be mailed’ did not trigger a warning and was allowed to stay on the platform.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court held in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion.
The 6-3 ruling authored by Justice Samuel Alito upended nearly 50 years of precedent and sparked massive protests nationwide.
In the post-Roe world, eighteen states already banned abortion and more may follow suit.
The 26 states where abortion will likely become illegal now Supreme Court has overturned Roe vs Wade
The 26 states where abortion will likely become illegal if SCOTUS overturns Roe vs Wade after leaked draft opinion showed a majority of justices supported the move
More than half of all US states have some kind of abortion ban law likely to take effect now that Roe v Wade has been overturned by the United States Supreme Court.
According to the pro-reproductive rights group The Guttmacher Institute, there are 26 states that will likely make abortions illegal now that the Supreme Court has overturned the landmark 1973 ruling.
18 have existing abortion bans that have previously been ruled unconstitutional, four have time limit bans and four are likely to pass laws once Roe v Wade is overturned, the organization found.
The 18 states that have near-total bans on abortion already on the books are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In addition, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina all have laws that ban abortions after the six-week mark.
Florida, Indiana, Montana and Nebraska, are likely to pass bills when Roe v Wade is overturned, the Guttmacher Institute said.
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin’s bans all have pre-Roe v Wade laws that became unenforceable after the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision – that would kick into effect now the federal legal precedent established in Roe has been overturned.
Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas have further bans that will come into effect if the law was overturned. These were passed post-Roe v Wade.
They’re joined by Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming, in passing such laws.
The states that will limit abortions based on the length of time a patient has been pregnant are Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota and Ohio.
There are four states that have laws that state abortion is not a constitutionally protected right: Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk