Facebook and Instagram are Rejecting LGBTQ Ads for Promoting “Prostitution” (LGBTQ Nation)

Read the full article by Daniel Villarreal at LGBTQNation.com

Salty — a dating and relationships newsletter for women, trans & non binary people — has alleged that Facebook and Instagram rejected at least four of its ads for promoting “escort services.” None of the ads feature any suggestive nudity, sex workers or undertones of sex work.

Both social media platforms later reversed their decisions, but the initial rejection still sheds light on the barriers that social media sometimes places on LGBTQ content creators.

In a series of tweets published on July 9, Salty showed several ad images that had been rejected by Facebook and Instagram, two of the world’s largest social media networks with an estimated reach of over 3.3 billion people.

In subsequent explanatory tweets, Salty wrote:

“People, this is a FOSTA/SESTA in action. There are biases and assumptions built into the algorithms that are designed to write us out of them. It is no coincidence that these images are POCs (people of color), non-binary, disabled and plus sized bodies — and are the most highly regulated.

Just another infuriating example of the digital world enforcing racism, homophobia and sexism. The history of sexualizing the bodies of trans women and woc (women of color) is not new. It’s just being implemented into the algorithms.”