Tumblr has recently announced their move to delete millions of reblogs related to Nazis and white supremacist contents as well as posts that promote hate speech.
Tumblrs Move Against Hate Speech
According to Engadget, the company announced that they are in the midst of removing around 4.47 million reblogs of contents from about a thousand of Nazi-related blogs that have been frozen and deleted.
It appears that hate speech is still rampant on the blogging website, usually in the form of reblogs of original posts that have already been deleted.
The company decided to remove these reblogs since they "rarely contained the kind of counter-speech that serves to keep hateful rhetoric in check," meaning they aren't used to educate people on how to counter hate speech.
They have also announced that blogs that are suspended in the future will be evaluated and decide whether the mass deletion of reblogs is the best approach for the platform.
Tumblr said that the move was also a response from their user's feedback after they have called out to the company about how they assess and deal with hate speech on the platform.
They also disclosed that they have a team of dedicated people for Trust & Safety that will evaluate people's reports on any hate speech they see.
Preemptive Defense
In their post, they announced that they had consulted with third-party experts and groups before they made the decision and defended themselves preemptively from Tumblr users that might see this as a form of censorship.
"We are, and will always remain, steadfast believers in free speech. Tumblr is a place where you can be yourself and express your opinions. Hate speech is not conducive to that. When hate speech goes unchecked, it eventually silences the voices that add kindness and value to our society. That's not the kind of Tumblr any of us want," the company wrote.
In the past, the company's moderation moves didn't sit well with its users after the website banned any and all pornographic and adult-related content when Verizon still owned Tumblr.
Because of the move, the company saw a massive drop in traffic as users stopped using the platform, according to a report by The Verge.
Nevertheless, the ban is still in effect even after Automattic bought the platform last year.
Mental Health Awareness Month on Tumblr
In related news, Tumblr teamed up with the UK non-profit group Ditch for the content initiative on May 1, which is the start of the Mental Health Awareness Month.
According to Adweek, Tumblr's platform for mental and emotional health awareness, Post It Forward, will include resources as well as discussions on four different topics: managing relationships, combating boredom, maintaining and improving mental health, as well as dealing with grief.
In addition, they will also be creating content that tackles the coronavirus crisis we are facing today.
They also have more plans for this month to help any users who are turning to Tumblr to aid with their mental health issues.
This is incredibly important these days due to the coronavirus crisis that is threatening the mental and emotional health of people who are on lockdown.
