Is Facebook’s ‘No Swearing Campaign’ a real thing?

Theo Thimou | March 28th, 2017

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We’re used to seeing all kinds of Facebook fakes, everything from phony gift cards to bogus celebrity profiles.

But in the annals of Facebook foolery, this one has to be among the downright silliest…

There’s a graphic circulating promising that Facebook is gearing up for the launch of a “No Swearing Campaign” to ban profane language on the social media platform.

This is Facebook fake news of a different kind

Facebook’s ‘No Swearing Campaign’

We just got through the fake news controversy during the most recent election cycle. Now Hoax-Slayer.net reports that a bogus message claiming to be from Facebook’s CEO is making the rounds with a promise to ban foul-mouthed users.

The misleading missive says anyone who curses or uses obscene language will have their account locked down while Facebook investigates the alleged infraction. If the bad behavior persists, the letter reads, “a permanent ban will be placed into effect immediately.”

The note appears to come from CEO Mark Zuckerberg and cites Section 182 Paragraph 34b of an imaginary Facebook legal code. But eagle-eyed readers will also notice the message says the no cussing initiative will begin on April 1, 2018. So this is just a really early April Fool’s Day joke for next year!

Here’s a reality check: While Facebook’s Community Standards do address problems like hate speech, bullying, harassment and direct threats, there is no language in them explicitly banning profanity.

Of course, just because there’s no official rule against profanity doesn’t mean you should necessarily cuss like a sailor in every post!

Clark has long advocated the “Granny rule” to govern your social media posting life. Basically, if you wouldn’t be comfortable showing your grandmother what you posted on Facebook or another site, maybe you should think twice about posting it!

Staying safe on Facebook

Clearly, the threat of running into bogus stuff on Facebook didn’t end with the 2016 election cycle. So here are some general tips to keep you on the straight and narrow when you’re on the site:

When connecting with celebrities, use only their official verified social media account. Look for the little blue check mark — called a verified badge — to know who you’re dealing with.
Report any scams to Facebook.
Block any user accounts from which a scam is coming.
Know that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!