Report Hate on Facebook: Posts, Groups and Messenger

Someone stirs up hate against you in the comments under a local news article, people in a group make fun of you, insults arrive in Messenger. If you want to report hate on Facebook, you have different routes depending on where it happens: to Facebook itself, to a group’s admins or straight from the chat. This guide shows how to secure evidence, report properly, protect yourself and when hate on Facebook is a criminal offence in Germany.

What should you save before you report hate on Facebook?

Save first, then report. If the content is deleted or you are removed from a group, you will not be able to get to it otherwise.

• Post or comment: a screenshot with the name, text and time. For comments, also save the post they are under.
• Link: clicking the time on a post usually opens it with its own address. Copy it. This often works for comments too.
• Profile: the link to the profile. Names often exist several times on Facebook, the link is more reliable.
• Groups: the group’s name and link, whether it is public or private, and who runs it. Save early, before you leave the group or are removed.
• Messenger: screenshots of the whole conversation with the other person’s name visible at the top.

Important with nude images: if someone sends you nude or sexual content, do not take screenshots of it and do not forward anything. Describe in a note what you received, from whom and when. If minors are involved, saving or forwarding can itself be a criminal offence (§§ 184b, 184c of the German Criminal Code, StGB). Report the profile and turn to the police.

More on saving evidence in How to Secure Evidence of Online Hate.

How do you report hate on Facebook?

The report option sits behind the three dots or a long press on the content. Labels change with updates, so look for terms like “Report” or “Find support or report”.

• Post: the three dots on the post → report → choose a reason, such as hate speech, bullying or harassment.
• Comment: the three dots next to the comment, or long-press → report.
• Profile or Page: open the profile, the three dots → report. This fits for fake profiles or when someone attacks you again and again.

For possible criminal offences, look in the reporting flow or help centre for a separate route for illegal content. Explain briefly which law you think the content breaks.

How do you report hate in Facebook groups?

In groups, you have two routes:

• To the group admins: the menu on posts and comments usually has an option to report them to the admins. Admins can delete content, mute or remove members and review posts before they are published. This is often faster.
• To Facebook: the normal report goes to Facebook itself and is reviewed against its Community Standards and the law.

Report to Facebook when it involves possible criminal offences, when the admins do nothing or when the hate comes from the admins themselves. If a group permanently tolerates hate, you can also report the whole group. Still report the individual posts.

Hate can be a criminal offence in private groups too. For some offences, whether a statement counts as public depends on the case, for example on the size of the group. What applies to hate against groups of people is explained in our guide to incitement to hatred online.

How do you report harassment in Messenger?

• Report: in the conversation, you find the report option via the person’s name or the menu on a message. Many Messenger chats are end-to-end encrypted. According to Meta, when you report, recent messages from the chat are decrypted on your device and sent to Meta for review.
• Restrict: you stop getting notifications and the chat disappears from your list. The person cannot see whether you are online or have read their messages. They are not notified.
• Block: the person can no longer message or call you.

For private messages, the DSA rules for online platforms mostly do not apply, because they are not distributed publicly. You can still report them.

How can you protect yourself from hate on Facebook?

Use these settings once you have saved what you need:

• Limit comments: in the settings for public posts, you decide who may comment, for example everyone, friends or friends of friends. For single posts, use the three dots.
• Hide or delete comments: under your own posts, you can hide or remove comments.
• Block: the person can no longer see the posts on your profile, tag you or message you.
• Check your profile details: set your hometown, school, employer and friends list so that strangers cannot see them.
• Leave groups in which hate is tolerated.

When is hate on Facebook a criminal offence?

The same criminal law applies on Facebook as everywhere else. The main provisions of the German Criminal Code (StGB) are:

• Insult (Beleidigung, § 185 StGB).
• Defamation (§§ 186, 187 StGB): for example false rumours about you in a local group.
• Threat (Bedrohung, § 241 StGB).
• Incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung, § 130 StGB): stirring up hatred against groups, for example because of origin or religion.
• Symbols of unconstitutional organisations (§ 86a StGB).
• Dangerous dissemination of personal data (§ 126a StGB): for example when your address is posted to put you at risk.
• Stalking (Nachstellung, § 238 StGB): when someone pursues you again and again. This is prosecuted ex officio.

Whether a specific post is a criminal offence is for the police or a law firm to assess. Insults are generally only prosecuted if a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) is filed (§ 194 StGB). The deadline is three months from learning of the act and the offender (§ 77b StGB).

In acute danger? If someone makes concrete threats of violence: call the police on 110, the emergency number in Germany.

What does Facebook have to do after your report?

In the EU, Facebook is subject to the Digital Services Act (DSA). Under Art. 16 DSA, Facebook must accept reports of illegal content, process them carefully and tell you its decision. If Facebook rejects your report, you can lodge a free complaint under Art. 20 DSA for at least six months. The further routes are explained in Platform Not Responding to Your Report? DSA Complaints. All duties at a glance: Digital Services Act: What Platforms Must Do About Online Hate.

What happens after your report?

Removal takes the post down, not the person behind it. For criminal prosecution, file a criminal complaint (Anzeige) with the police or online through the online police station (Onlinewache) of your federal state. Include links, profile names and times.

HateAid offers counselling on digital violence. Women who are harassed or threatened can call the Hilfetelefon Gewalt gegen Frauen around the clock on 116 016, also with interpreters in many languages. The Telefonseelsorge crisis line is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111 (in German). For young people, there is the Nummer gegen Kummer: 116 111 (Monday to Saturday, 2 to 8 pm, in German).

Frequently asked questions

Is reporting to the group admins enough?

For quick removal, often yes. But admins are not neutral and are not bound by the DSA procedure. For possible criminal offences, also report to Facebook and save evidence.

What happens to Messenger messages when I report them?

According to Meta, for encrypted chats the recent messages are decrypted on your device and sent to Meta for review. Otherwise Meta cannot read them.

Does someone notice that I restricted them in Messenger?

Meta does not notify the person. But they can no longer see whether you are online or have read their messages.

Is hate in a private group a criminal offence?

It can be. An insult does not require a public setting. For other offences, it depends on the case. The police or a law firm will assess that.

You can also report it through our form. If you say yes, your report goes automatically to a suitable cooperating law firm (Kooperationskanzlei) as soon as one is available. The legal assessment comes from the law firm, not from us. If there is no suitable firm right now, you get an email with other places to turn to straight away. Deadlines keep running: you can always file a request for prosecution (Strafantrag) with the police yourself.