The Beheading Was Fine

Facebook left the video up—a man in a mask beheading a woman in Mexico—because it didn’t quite clear the threshold for removal. But post a photograph of a breast, even in the context of nursing, and you’re out. The rules work differently depending on what’s in the frame.

When pressed, Facebook offered the explanation they always do: context matters. They allow documentation of violence because people need to share what’s happening in the world. Only when violence is glorified or weaponized do they step in. It’s a distinction flexible enough to protect almost anything from moderation.

But the actual asymmetry is obvious. A nipple is more obscene to them than a corpse. A moment of feeding a child is a worse violation of their standards than someone’s final breath on camera. This isn’t a flaw in their system—it’s the design. It shows you what they’ve chosen to protect, and what they’ve decided is safe to expose.