Glorification of Violence

From the IFTAS Moderator Library, supporting Fediverse trust & safety

Updated on 2024-03-31

Definition

Statements or images that celebrate past or hypothetical future acts of violence.

Background

The glorification of violence refers to content that praises, promotes, or idolises violent acts, individuals who commit such acts, or ideologies that endorse violence. This can range from explicit support for terrorist activities to the romanticising of historical violence. In online spaces, such content not only violates the terms of service of most platforms but also poses significant risks by potentially inciting further violence or radicalising individuals.

Challenges

Differentiating between content that glorifies violence and that which is educational, newsworthy, or a form of artistic expression requires nuanced understanding and judgement. What constitutes the glorification of violence can vary greatly across cultures, making global moderation policies difficult to uniformly enforce. Given the potential for such content to inspire real-world violence, moderators must act quickly to identify and remove it, necessitating efficient detection and review processes.

Moderation decisions may face criticism from users who feel their freedom of expression is being infringed upon, especially in politically charged contexts.

Ethical Concerns

Moderating content that glorifies violence involves navigating the right balance between removing harmful content and preserving users’ rights to free expression while considering the potential harm to communities that may be targeted or further marginalised by content that glorifies violence.

Maintaining transparency and predictability of moderation policies and decisions to build trust among users, while being accountable for moderating can be extremely effective.

Example Rule

Content that glorifies, celebrates, or incites violence is strictly prohibited. This includes but is not limited to praising violent acts, promoting ideologies that endorse violence, or celebrating individuals known for committing violent acts.

Discussion

Discuss this label in the Glorification of Violence forum.

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