Meta Admits Mistaken Deletion of Pixelfed Links on Facebook

Meta recently faced scrutiny for removing links to Pixelfed, a decentralized photo-sharing platform, from Facebook. This action became apparent through reports from users on Bluesky and other outlets. It appeared that any post directing to "pixelfed.social" was eliminated, based on Facebook's spam community standards.

In response to inquiries, Meta acknowledged that the removal of these posts was an error and assured that they would restore them.

Understanding Pixelfed's Role in the Fediverse

Pixelfed operates using the ActivityPub protocol and is integrated into the broader "fediverse" of decentralized social media platforms. Similar to Instagram, it allows users to interact through sharing, liking, and commenting on images. Uniquely, its use of ActivityPub means posts can be shared across different applications or adapted into varying forms of photo sharing platforms. Interestingly, Meta is exploring ActivityPub features in Threads, enabling simultaneous posting to Threads and Mastodon.

Skepticism Surrounding Meta's Content Moderation

The timing of these deletions has raised eyebrows, considering Meta's recent announcement of considerable changes in their content moderation strategies. The company is discontinuing its third-party fact-checking scheme and modifying its Hateful Conduct policy. This includes allowing speech that, by typical standards, would be considered hateful, according to Wired's findings.

Given these changes, it's conceivable that users might migrate to alternatives like Pixelfed, which reportedly experienced a surge in traffic recently. It is also within reason to speculate whether the newly right-aligned Meta would block its competitors like X did with links to platforms such as Mastodon and Substack.