Whether it’s a profanity Facebook post about a mutual friend or an over-the-top reaction to the latest viral video, Facebook chat often invokes emotional and visceral reactions. And, when those feelings get a little heated, sometimes people resort to language that mom would not approve of. According to a recent study by Reppler, a reputation management firm, nearly half of all Facebook walls contain some form of profanity. The most common swear word is a derivation of the f-word, followed by sh*t and b*tch. The vast majority of these foul-mouthed Facebook posts originate from a user’s friends.
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Swearing can make a person look unprofessional, especially when used on social networks that are used as professional networking tools. It can also cause a user to be perceived as unintelligent or abrasive, depending on the context in which the profanity is used. Swearing may be interpreted as a sign of disrespect to other individuals or groups, and it can lead to bullying and harassment.
For Facebook Page administrators who want to keep their pages family-friendly, there is a profanity filter that can be activated from within the Page Settings. The filter can be set to Medium, Strong or None.
In addition to preventing profanity, the Page Moderation tool can help prevent hate speech by blocking comments that violate the Community Standards for sex, religion, ethnicity, gender and disability. It also filters out words that might be considered offensive by the broader community and includes slang expressions and cultural idioms.