Facebook Backtracks after Offending LGTB Community
by Steven Mostyn
The EastEnders boys responsible for causing all the fuss. Image: BBC.
Having recently offended the New York Academy of Art and a fair number of breast-feeding mothers, social networking giant Facebook has now been forced to apologize after inciting the ire of homosexuals.
Said wrath was invoked when Facebook abruptly yanked a fairly innocuous photo of two fully clothed male actors kissing from the blog post of gay rights activist Richard Metzger.
Sent a cursory notification informing him of the picture’s removal, Mr. Metzger was told that his choice of photograph was in violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which concerns the prohibited use of “nudity, or any kind of graphic or sexually suggestive content…”
However, the somewhat hasty actions of Zuckerberg & Co. led to an outcry from members of the gay community and the general public alike—with hundreds of outraged Facebook members rushing to upload the ‘offending’ photo to their profiles.
That outpouring of support has obviously carried some weight, because Facebook has promptly re-evaluated the image and moved to backtrack on its decision.
“The photo in question does not violate our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and was removed in error,” a statement from the network reads. “We apologize for any inconvenience.”
The original picture had been posted to help build awareness and support for a ‘kiss-in’ event at the John Snow bar in Soho, which has put itself in the crosshairs of gay rights activists after two gay patrons were allegedly told to leave for kissing on the premises.
The ‘Kissing is Cool’ page created to publicize the event has certainly received an exposure boost in the wake of the photo scandal. The page currently boasts close to 50,000 attendees who are willing to pucker-up in public to help the cause.
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