Did Facebook change its hate speech policy to forbid posts that say, "Let's go, Brandon"? No, that's not true: The post that made the claim is from an account that clearly states it produces satire and the account posted a message saying it was just a joke. The phrase "Let's go, Brandon" has become a veiled way for conservatives to curse President Joe Biden by referring to a broadcast reporter's mistake: he said NASCAR fans at Talladega Superspeedway were chanting "Let's Go, Brandon" October 2, 2021, when they were actually chanting "Fuck Joe Biden."
The claim appeared as a Facebook post (archived here) on October 20, 2021. It opens:
BREAKING: Facebook to change its hate speech policy to include posts that say, 'Let's go Brandon.'
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Oct 22 23:32:50 2021 UTC)
The screenshot of the tweet posted on Facebook reads:
BREAKING: Facebook to change its hate speech policy to include posts that say 'Let's go Brandon.'
'This while thing has gone far enough. It's offensive and really really mean,' said a top executive at the social media company.
The tweet is real and is from the account of conservative commentator Jeff Charles @JeffOnTheRight. His bio description reads: "Host of A Fresh Perspective Podcast.Contributor for RedState and LibertyNation. I spit hot satire."
Here is the original October 19, 2021 tweet:
BREAKING: Facebook to change its hate speech policy to include posts that say 'Let's go Brandon.'
-- Jeff Charles, Black John Wick (@JeffOnTheRight) October 19, 2021
'This while thing has gone far enough. It's offensive and really really mean,' said a top executive at the social media company.
The Associated Press posted a fact check of the claim, noting Charles told them the tweet was satire and that Facebook had confirmed the company has not changed policy to ban the phrase.
Charles even posted a message on his Twitter account after the AP fact check was published and reiterated the tweet was a joke:
Here's Associated Press' "fact check" of my satirical tweet about Facebook's "Let's Go Brandon" policy.
-- Jeff Charles, Black John Wick (@JeffOnTheRight) October 21, 2021
I have finally made it!
😂😂😂 https://t.co/WA6wVwkyUe
However, commenters on Facebook continued to believe the message was real. Here is a screenshot of such comments:
During an interview with NASCAR driver Brandon Brown following his win at the Talladega Superspeedway, the NBC Sports reporter said the fans in the stands were shouting, "Let's go Brandon." They were actually chanting, "F*** Joe Biden." This has become a "code" phrase on social media denigrating Biden.
Here is a video from the race:
