BREAKING: In Events in NYC and Zuckerberg’s DC Mansion, Advocates Decry Real-Life Dangers of Meta’s Hate Speech Policy Rollback

For Immediate Release: June 17, 2025
Contact: media@weareultraviolet.org

In simultaneous events in New York City and Washington, D.C.—in a public square near Meta’s NYC headquarters and Mark Zuckerberg’s DC mansion, respectively—advocates from UltraViolet and All Out staged events highlighting the dangers that Meta’s January policy rollbacks mean for users in real life.

These actions were carried out in response to a new report released yesterday, June 16, by UltraViolet, GLAAD, and All Out, featured on a newly launched website, makemetasafe.org, and first reported on by 404 Media. The report, which surveyed 7,000 active users of Meta platforms–particularly women and LGBTQ people–highlights the dangerous consequences of Meta’s rollbacks to its hate speech policy and its ending of third-party fact-checking in the U.S. In tonight’s events, the advocates took action to convey to Mark Zuckerberg and Meta that their decisions have caused tangible, real-life dangers.

In Washington, D.C., women advocates carried out a light projection on Mark Zuckerberg’s newly-purchased DC mansion with powerful statistics from a recent report showing Meta’s policy rollbacks have led to more fear, more hate, and less freedom for users across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Mark Zuckerberg was not in the home; rather, the home was chosen for its symbolism of Zuckerberg’s growing enmeshment with our nation’s capital (and specifically President Donald Trump), alongside rollbacks in protections for vulnerable users on Meta platforms. The light projections highlighted the following messages:

Meta cut protections. Now hate is surging.
92% say Facebook & Instagram feel less safe
Meta’s rollbacks silence speech. 77% now think twice before posting
Hate thrives where moderation dies; and
Since Meta’s rollbacks 1 in 4 faced targeted hate. 1 in 6 faced gender-based violence.

Simultaneously, in New York City, LGBTQ advocates staged a bold visual protest to confront Meta for its decision to roll back key content moderation policies. The activation aimed to hold Mark Zuckerberg and his platform directly accountable for enabling a flood of hate and fear. At the center of the action: powerful visuals featuring real hate speech that Meta failed to remove, submitted by LGBT+ people and other vulnerable communities who say they no longer feel safe on Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram..

Activists engaged with passersby, asking for their opinions and messages for Mark Zuckerberg. One person shared, “Social media used to be fun. Now, it’s just full of hate. It’s time to make social media safe again.” The event served as a reminder that Zuckerberg’s choices have real-world consequences. By weakening content moderation and aligning his platform more and more with the anti-LGBT+, anti-woman, anti-DEI agenda of Trump-era politics, Zuckerberg is profiting off the suffering of queer people, women, and people of color.

The report released yesterday and the new website, makemetasafe.org, detail the real-life consequences of Meta’s end of third-party fact-checking in the U.S. and rollbacks to its hate speech policy, which prompted these joint actions. The key findings are as follows:

1 in 6 of respondents report being the victim of some form of gender-based or sexual violence on Meta platforms.
92% of respondents say they are concerned about harmful content increasing on Meta platforms.
72% of respondents report that harmful content targeting protected groups has increased.
92% of respondents say they feel less protected from being exposed to or targeted* by harmful content on Meta platforms.
Over 25% of respondents report being targeted directly with harmful content on a Meta platform.
66% of respondents have witnessed harmful content on Meta platforms.
77% of respondents describe feeling less safe expressing themselves freely.

The report closes with a call for Meta to hire an independent third-party to formally analyze changes in harmful content facilitated by the policy changes—centering the perspective of users—and to urgently reinstate protections and widespread content moderation for users. Users deserve online spaces where they can feel safe and thrive. They cannot do that when continually targeted with hate and harassment on the basis of who they are.

###