"Post Stating “Stop Hiring Khmer People”", 3 March 2026

A user appealed Meta’s decision to leave up a Facebook post in Thai stating: “Stop hiring Khmer people.”…

Summary

A user appealed Meta’s decision to leave up a Facebook post in Thai stating: “Stop hiring Khmer people.” After the Board brought the appeal to Meta’s attention, the company reversed its original decision and removed the post.

About the Case

In July 2025, a Facebook user posted a photo of four uniformed individuals holding what appears to be sand sacks at a construction site, accompanied by a caption in Thai stating: “#Stop hiring Khmer people.” The caption also emphasized that people should not support shops or companies employing Cambodians and asked other users to share the message if they agree. The content was posted in the context of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia, which resulted in the injuring and death of civilians. Thousands of Cambodian migrants left Thailand and returned to Cambodia fearing discrimination and violence amid the unrest.

In their appeal to the Board, the reporting user noted that the post “spreads ethnic hatred and discrimination against Cambodians,” fueling “social division” and putting “innocent people at risk.”

Under the Hateful Conduct Community Standard, Meta removes “content targeting a person or group of people on the basis of their protected characteristic[s]” with “calls or support for exclusion or segregation or statements of intent to exclude or segregate.” That covers “economic exclusion, which means denying access to economic entitlements and limiting participation in the labor market.”

After the Board brought this case to Meta’s attention, the company determined that the content violated the Hateful Conduct policy and that its original decision to leave up the content was incorrect. Meta found that the post explicitly calls for others not to hire Khmer people, which constitutes a “call to deny them access to the labor market,” and removed it from Facebook…

Significance of Case

The content in this case provides an example of the underenforcement of Meta’s Hateful Conduct policy, potentially contributing to the discrimination of Cambodians in Thailand, especially in light of the recent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. The Board is paying particular attention to Meta’s enforcement errors involving this Community Standard since the company’s announcement …

Decision

The Board overturns Meta’s original decision to leave up the content. The Board acknowledges Meta’s correction of its initial error once the Board brought the case to Meta’s attention.