With the election campaigning in the final phase, the Facebook oversight board has officially restored the Harris-Walz 'Dumb and Dumber' meme. The unexpected development was followed by a ruling from Facebook's parent company, Meta, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
The Harris-Walz meme features the faces of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz photoshopped onto a poster of the popular 1994 film, Dumb and Dumber. Like the original poster, the doctored image showed the two Democratic candidates “grabbing each other’s nip*les through their clothing.”
The Harris-Walz Dumb and Dumber meme first appeared on Facebook in August 2024 and was on its way to becoming a viral sensation. However, it was soon banned after being found to be against the platform's bullying and harassment policies.
All you need to know about the Harris-Walz Dumb and Dumber meme amid the removal of the ban
The policies that led to the Harris-Walz meme post being banned were put in place to make Facebook a safer place for all individuals. It prohibits people from sharing demeaning and se*ualized drawings or photoshopped images on the platform and acts strictly against those in violation.
The banning of the meme post was part of similar actions against the violation of the policies. However, the original poster did not find the decision to be appropriate and appealed against it to the Oversight Board. The board, which is composed of Denmark's former prime minister and over 20 esteemed scholars, announced the final decision to restore the post on October 23.
While ruling in favor of restoring the post, the Oversight Board noted that the image was nothing but a light-hearted satire about the two politicians, and should have never been removed. They mentioned that the case was a clear example of an 'over enforcement' of Meta and Facebook's Bullying policy.
The Oversight Board acknowledged the ill-enforcement of the policy could keep people from critiquing government officials during elections and said on October 23:
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“It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government official and political candidates, including in a sarcastic manner.”
The ruling documents shared with media outlets did not reveal the identity of the original poster. The heavy circulation of the popular meme on major social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and Reddit, also makes it difficult to pinpoint its origins.
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