Imagine logging onto Facebook and seeing an offensive picture, likening a black child to a monkey, pass through your news feed. Several users had that experience this week when a Facebook page “Laughing so hard you feel a six pack coming on” posted the above photo. The image satirizes equality while feeding the age-old stereotype that blacks are like animals and are inferior to whites. Its message is laden with racism and hate yet Facebook is doing nothing about it.
Several users reported the photo as hate speech in line with Facebook’s community standards below:
And they were shocked to receive this response:
If likening a black child to a monkey isn’t an attack on race, what is? To add insult to injury, the owner of the page, unchecked by Facebook and perhaps riled up by the negative backlash the image is receiving, posted the photograph again 12 hours later.
Users are taking this issue into their own hands with a Change.org petition that demands Facebook take action against offensive and racist posts published under the guise of humor.
