{"id":903722,"date":"2024-05-21T08:51:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T12:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/?page_id=903722"},"modified":"2024-05-21T08:51:28","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T12:51:28","slug":"2024-sms-program-highlights-2024-social-media-safety-index","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/smsi\/2024\/smsi-advocacy-work\/","title":{"rendered":"2024 SMS Program Highlights – 2024 Social Media Safety Index"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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2024 Social Media Safety Index<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Improving Policies, Creating Accountability, and Raising Awareness: The Year in GLAAD Social Media Safety Program Advocacy Work (2023-2024)<\/h2>
\"Social<\/a>
Social Media Safety Index 2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>

GLAAD’s Social Media Safety (SMS) program<\/a><\/strong> actively researches, monitors, and reports on a variety of issues facing LGBTQ social media users \u2014 with a focus on safety, privacy and expression. The SMS program has consulted directly with platforms and tech companies on some of the most significant LGBTQ policy and product developments over the years. In addition to ongoing advocacy work with platforms (including TikTok, X\/Twitter, YouTube, and Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and others), and issuing the highly-respected annual Social Media Safety Index (SMSI) report<\/a>, the SMS program produces resources<\/a>, guides<\/a>, publications<\/a>, and campaigns<\/a>, and actively works to educate the general public and raise awareness in the media about LGBTQ social media safety issues<\/a>, especially anti-LGBTQ hate and disinformation.<\/p>

Below are just a few highlights of the program\u2019s advocacy work, tackling some of the most urgent problems and issues in the field over the past year.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

In April 2024<\/b>, GLAAD implemented an Instagram PSA campaign<\/a> to raise awareness about the alarming implications of Meta\u2019s new \u201cpolitical content\u201d policy, as well as launching an open letter advocacy campaign<\/a> with Accountable Tech and more than 200 Instagram creators. Meta\u2019s trio of problematic policy moves included: the decision to characterize \u201csocial topics that affect a group of people and\/or society large\u201d as \u201cpolitical content,\u201d the corresponding decision to no longer algorithmically recommend such content to users, and the equally concerning implementation of the new policy \u2014 changing all user settings to limit such content by default, rather than making it an opt-in option. Speaking out to <\/a>The<\/em><\/a> Washington Post<\/em><\/a>, a GLAAD spokesperson explained, \u201cCategorizing \u2018social topics that affect a group of people and\/or society large\u2019 as \u2018political content\u2019 is an appalling move. LGBTQ people\u2019s lives are simply that, our lives. Our lives are not \u2018political content\u2019 or political fodder. This is a dangerous move that not only suppresses LGBTQ voices, but decimates opportunities for LGBTQ people to connect with each other, and allies, as our content will be excluded from the algorithm.\u201d<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

Released in March 2024<\/b>, GLAAD\u2019s impactful report \u2014 Unsafe: Meta Fails to Moderate Extreme Anti-trans Hate Across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads<\/em><\/strong><\/a> \u2014 showcases dozens of examples of the shocking, dehumanizing anti-trans content that Meta actively allows on its platforms. All of the content examples in the report were submitted to Meta\u2019s standard reporting systems by GLAAD; Meta either replied that posts were not violative or simply did not take action on them. The Washington Post<\/em> broke the news with an exclusive feature<\/a>, highlighting several of the content examples (\u201cIn one Instagram post cited in the report,\u201d the Post<\/em> story notes, \u201ca trans person\u2019s body is shown twisted on the ground while being beaten to death with stones, which have been replaced with the laughing emoji. The caption reads: \u2018[trans flag] people are devils.\u2019\u201d) The Post<\/em> also notes that Meta\u2019s ombudsman Oversight Board had previously \u201clambasted the company\u2019s failure to enforce rules against anti-trans hate and threats.\u201d Although multiple major media outlets requested comments from Meta on the report \u2014 including the Washington Post<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Fast Company<\/em><\/a>, Engadget<\/em><\/a>, The Daily Dot<\/em><\/a>, and The Verge<\/em><\/a> \u2014 the company did not respond. In the aftermath of the report, seven of the 30 reported items were removed, though no explanation was given by Meta (23 of the egregiously harmful items remain live).<\/p>

\"Which<\/p>

The SMS program<\/b> saw major victories over the past year in our advocacy work around two key LGBTQ safety policy protections \u2014 prohibiting targeted misgendering and deadnaming<\/a> and prohibiting the promotion and advertising of harmful so-called \u201cconversion therapy<\/a>.\u201d After consultation with GLAAD, companies adopting one or both of the policies in recent months include: Snapchat<\/a>, Discord<\/a>, Post<\/a>, Spoutible<\/a>, Grindr<\/a>, IFTAS<\/a> (the non-profit supporting the Fediverse moderator community), and Mastodon.social<\/a> (Mastodon\u2019s largest server). While these additions do not solve the extremely significant related issue of policy enforcement<\/em> (which GLAAD is working on as well), these are excellent concrete examples of how the SMS program creates impact. In February 2024 GLAAD <\/a>released two significant reports<\/a> documenting how some platforms lag behind in these LGBTQ safety policy protections, but that numerous platforms and apps are increasingly adopting the policies that GLAAD\u2019s SMS program advocates as best practices for the industry.<\/p>

\"Cancel<\/p>

Educating the general public<\/strong> and raising awareness in the media about LGBTQ social media safety issues is another important part of GLAAD\u2019s Social Media Safety program work. In January 2024 SMS program manager Leanna Garfield joined MSNBC<\/em> contributor Katelyn Burns on her podcast \u201cCancel Me Daddy<\/a>\u201d to discuss how social media companies like Meta and Twitter are profiting from online hate speech against LGBTQ people, especially transgender people, and how GLAAD has been at the forefront of pushing these companies to work toward solutions. Listen to the episode here<\/a>.<\/p>