Meta’s Oversight Board fixes meme of Harris and Walz being ‘Dumb and Dumber’

Meta’s Oversight Board on Wednesday overturned Facebook’s decision to remove a meme that poked fun at the Democratic presidential ticket as characters from the hit movie “Dumb and Dumber.”

Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook — which famously censored The Post’s Hunter Biden laptop coverage — removed a post in August that photoshopped the faces of Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz onto those of 1994 movie stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.

The fake movie poster, which shows Harris and Walz “grabbing each other’s nipples through their clothing,” was flagged for violating Facebook’s anti-bullying and harassment policy, which prohibits “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings,” the review said of the Oversight Board.

The user appealed to the Oversight Board, which reviews Meta’s content moderation decisions. After being approached by the board, Meta restored the post.

The Oversight Board — which triggered last month’s blackout after determining that the anti-Israel phrase “from the river to the sea” does not constitute hate speech — said Wednesday that the meme was “nothing more than a run-of-the-mill satirical image of prominent politicians and immediately recognizable as such.”

The board did not publish an image of the user’s original post or meme, but similar versions of the meme that matched the description were viewable online.

In its summary of the case, the board expressed concern that Meta’s “overenforcement” of the bullying and intimidation policy in the context of elections “could lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political leaders.” candidates, also in a sarcastic way.”

“Protecting social media users’ right to free speech is a core principle for the Oversight Board. The vast majority of our decisions involve ‘omitting’ or restoring content that Meta has removed,” Michael McConnell, co-chair of the Oversight Board, said in a statement.

“Platforms should be a place where political debate and discussion can flourish, especially during elections, protests and other social movements,” McConnell added. “The board will continue to hold Meta accountable to ensure its policies and enforcement are applied fairly.”

The Oversight Board issued a “summary decision” on the case, which is described as a case in which “Meta reversed its original decision on a piece of content after the board brought it to the company’s attention.”

When reached for comment, a Meta spokesperson confirmed that the company has reinstated the post.

“We accidentally deleted this post but restored it after the issue was brought to our attention,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Meta has faced intense criticism over its content moderation practices in recent years.

A contrite Zuckerberg caused a stir in August after admitting that the Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to suppress COVID-related content during the height of the pandemic, including light-hearted memes and satire.

Elsewhere, the advisory board, which is funded by Meta but claims to be independent, has recently faced questions about its impartiality.

As The Post reported, several members of the 21-member board had taken critical positions on Israeli actions in Gaza in recent years.

Last month, the advisory council ruled that Facebook and Instagram users can use the slogan “from the river to the sea” as long as they do not glorify Hamas or incite violence.

The slogan refers to the idea of ​​a Palestinian state spanning the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – the land currently controlled by Israel.

Several prominent Jewish groups condemned the board’s decision. The Combat Antisemitism Movement called this determination “absurd” and said it would fuel the spread of antisemitism online.