STOP Censoring Posts About Cornell Gang Rape
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri
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There are no words sufficient to describe the heartbreak and anger of processing the story from former Cornell University student Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and brutally gang-raped by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity in 2024 when she was just 20 years old. But here are a few that have been coming up for us: Disgust. Horror. Trigger. Nausea. Fear. Rage.
It’s been heartening to see the uproar on social media about this case, because it shows every single one of us–and especially survivors– that we are not alone in these extremely painful emotions, and we are not alone in our outrage.
While it can be important to warn users about explicitly violent content, Meta appears to be censoring or adding warning labels to posts about Cornell–even when there’s no graphic images or language. These labels can result in a “shadow ban,” severely limiting how widely posts are seen or, in some cases, preventing people from seeing them at all.
Meta has no business making it difficult for users--and particularly women users--to engage in these conversations. Blocking this content sends a dangerous signal that sounding the alarm on rape culture is worse than rape itself.
It feels blatantly obvious that women’s safety is not actually Meta’s priority, but that silencing us is. Unfortunately for them, our community is massive, pissed off, and powerful. Let’s make that clear to Zuckerberg and his broligarchs. Sign now to demand that Meta stop censoring posts about the Cornell rape case.
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri
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The public outcry against the reported atrocious gang rape committed by seven fraternity members at Cornell University in 2024 is warranted and necessary. That’s why, as a group of women, sexual assault survivors, and allies, we are sickened to hear reports that Instagram is placing warning labels on posts calling attention to this horrific case, awareness, and advocacy. These warning labels dangerously signal that sounding the alarm on rape culture is worse than rape itself, as well as make it difficult for some users to gain access to this important content.
While it’s important to warn users about explicitly violent content, these warning labels on posts about Cornell — which result in shadow banning and outright censorship — are being put up on non-explicit content that do not violate Meta’s safety policies. This is particularly ironic given Meta’s active fueling of violence against women and survivors through 1) content moderation rollbacks that explicitly allow for the dehumanization of women, even allowing for the likening of women to household objects, 2) the promotion of AI glasses being used to stalk, harass, and enact violence against women, and 3) the recent findings that Meta ran over 300 ads containing suspected child sexual abuse material.
It feels blatantly obvious that Meta doesn’t prioritize women’s safety, but our silence. Stop censoring posts about the Cornell rape case. Let us keep each other safe.