Meta ‘removes LGBTQ+ Pride themes from Facebook Messenger app’.
Tech giants Meta have reportedly removed Pride and LGBTQ+ themes from Facebook Messenger just days after changes to hate speech rules which will allow users to call queer people “mentally ill”.
The “trans” and “non-binary themes” had colour schemes that matched the respective gender identity’s pride flags. Other themes on Facebook Messenger include ones for Minecraft and Squid Game.
The change, initially flagged by 404 Media, follows billionaire owner Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to remove fact-checkers from Instagram, Threads and Facebook, and replace them with community notes similar to that seen on X/Twitter.
The company also came under fire after their community standards policy was changed to allow LGBTQ+ people to be described as “mentally ill”.
Meta launched the themes in 2021 and 2022 as part of their celebration of Pride Month.
“Messenger is committed to building the safest private messaging experience, that gives the growing LGBTQ+ community and its allies a trusted space to open up with confidence,” a spokesperson said while announcing the non-binary theme in 2022.
The shift has caused “total chaos“, according to internal conversations revealed by 404 Media, with several employees reportedly taking sick leave, saying that they are “LGBTQ+ and mentally ill”.
A thread on Meta’s internal workplace site reportedly had several hundred comments, some of which asked the board of directors to explain “how the decision was made to update the policy, particularly given this does not reflect any mainstream scientific consensus”.
