Black social media profiles more likely to be taken down more often than whites

#socialmedia

Black people's profiles and content are more likely to be taken down or suppressed than those of white people. This disparity is attributed to biases in both automated moderation systems and human review processes. source

Black social media profiles and content are disproportionately more likely to be taken down or suppressed than those of white users. This disparity is attributed to a combination of biased algorithms and human moderation practices that reflect societal biases. source

Instagram users whose online activity suggested they were Black were about 50% more likely to be subjected to automatic account suspension by the moderation system, compared to their White counterparts. source

Black Facebook users have reported being silenced when discussing racism on the platform, resulting in account suspension for weeks or even months. Criticism has also been directed at TikTok algorithms for disadvantaging and banning Black creators’ work. source

We center our attention on racial discrimination disclosures: instances where individuals from historically marginalized racial groups share their own or their close others’ experiences with discrimination and inequality. source

While there is variation in flagging rates across algorithms, all five models are more likely to flag racial discrimination disclosures as toxic than negative interpersonal experience disclosures. source

Despite significant recent improvements in language processing technology, our work shows that even the latest content moderation systems misclassify personal narratives by victims of racism as toxic. These systematic flaws can lead to disproportionate removal of online content produced by historically marginalized groups. source

Across Studies 1a to 2b, we found that both prominent algorithms and humans alike disparately suppress discussions about racial discrimination. source

Algorithmic Bias: Automated content moderation tools often disproportionately flag content from Black users. For example, one internal Facebook study from 2019 found that an automated tool on Instagram was 50% more likely to automatically ban Black users than white users.

Impact on Creators: Black content creators have reported that their work is often disadvantaged by algorithms, experiencing shadow banning (hiding content from followers) and a lack of support, which can impact their livelihoods. source

Read also: Blacks more likely than whites to see – and post – race-related content on social media, White People Are Way Less Likely To Talk About Race, Social Media’s Anti-Blackness, Black Americans disproportionately encounter lies online, survey finds, Months after TikTok apologized to Black creators, many say little has changed, There appears to be a huge gap between what black and white people see on social media,