Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes

[highplainsdem]

Source: 404 Media

Meta deleted nonbinary and trans themes for its Messenger app this week, around the same time that the company announced it would change its rules to allow users to declare that LGBTQ+ people are “mentally ill,” 404 Media has learned.

Meta’s Messenger app allows users to change the color scheme and design of their chat windows with different themes. For example, there is currently a “Squid Game” theme, a “Minecraft” theme, a “Basketball” theme, and a “Love” theme, among many others.

These themes regularly change, but for the last few years they have featured a “trans” theme and a “nonbinary” theme, which had color schemes that matched the trans pride flag and the non-binary pride flag. Meta did not respond to a request for comment about why the company removed these themes, but the change comes right as Mark Zuckerberg’s company is publicly and loudly shifting rightward to more closely align itself with the views of the incoming Donald Trump administration. 404 Media reported Thursday that many employees are protesting the anti LGBTQ+ changes and that “it’s total chaos internally at Meta right now” because of the changes.

The trans theme was announced for Pride Month in June 2021, and the nonbinary theme was announced in June 2022 in blog posts that highlighted Meta’s apparent support for trans and nonbinary people. Both of these posts are no longer online. Other blogs about updates to Messenger have been moved over from the old website they were originally published on to new URLs on the Meta newsroom, but these two blog posts have not.

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Read more: https://www.404media.co/meta-deletes-trans-and-nonbinary-messenger-themes/

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Their editor's Bluesky thread about this:

https://bsky.app/profile/jasonkoebler.bsky.social/post/3lffootvg5c24

[wcmagumba]

1. WTFH is wrong with zucks and the rwnj ilk...?

Hate for others is all they know...

[minstrel76]

2. I'm trans and we are sooo fucked.

[Tien1985]

4. The writing has been on the wall for a while

But every time we tried to point it out it seems someone would say it was an overreaction.

[FormerOstrich]

11. I wish I could tell you

that you were wrong. But I think you are right. I wish it weren't true.

I'll defend you and others the best I can. All of these actions these companies are taking, rolling back DEI, literally make me ill. I cannot understand it. I keep thinking it must not all be real. Things can't be this fucked up.

I am so so sorry and I wish more than anything I could make people see how fucked up they are.

I wish you the very best and hope we are wrong!!

[Joinfortmill]

3. R.I.P. FB is gonna soon be a cesspool of bigots, braggarts, and magats.

[Mawspam2]

5. And bots. Don't forget the bots.

Loads and loads of them to drive up usage meters so Zuck can charge an ever higher rate for non-existent users.

[Joinfortmill]

9. And bots, lots of bots.

[City Lights]

6. Wow.

How low will the Zuck go?

I'm so glad I deleted FB many years ago. I have never used any of the other crap he has.

[The Madcap]

7. Will there be

A Nazi theme?

[snot]

8. Can't we get some balance?!?!?

Fine with me to let everyone express their opinions (so long as they're not directly advocating violence or other traditional First Amendment exceptions); but isn't eliminating themes that some people use to express themselves just more censorship???

[IronLionZion]

10. Disappointing how many are bending the knee to MAGA

as if screwing over so many customers would be good for business.