Tumblr to delete 4.47 million reblogs for violating its hate speech policy

Popular social media platform Tumblr has posted an update about the way they are going to deal with hate speech that violates the platform’s Community Guidelines. Previously, accounts that violated the policy on hate speech were terminated and their content on the platform deleted, but some of those posts kept being present on the platform in the form of content, reblogged by other users.

The new update, however, will change the way Tumblr’s team deals with such reblogged posts from already suspended accounts, reports Engadget. Tumblr states that they have identified nearly a thousand blogs that were suspended for violating the platform’s policy around hate speech, and now Tumblr has started to remove all reblogs from such accounts. They state approximately 4.47 million reblogs are in the process of being deleted from the platform.

Additionally, Tumblr states that they have worked with outside experts in order to ensure they protect the freedom of expression and do not silence people using hate speech in order to provide counter-arguments to it.

Lastly, the company assured everyone that they remain a firm believer 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.”, says the company in its post.