Post by Graveyardbride on Oct 10, 2020 3:51:11 GMT -5
No ‘Overtly Sexual’ Onions Allowed on Facebook
Just how far into the gutter would an individual’s mind have to be to find something overtly sexual about the onions in the photo above? Well, it seems at least one such dirty-minded man (or women) is employed by Facebook.
Jackson McLean, a manager at the Gaze Seed Company in St. Johns, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, couldn’t believe his eyes when he received a notification from Facebook indicating his advertisement for Walla Walla Sweet onion seeds was “overtly sexual” and that “listings may not position products or services in a sexually suggestive manner.”
McLean couldn’t see anything sexual in the ad, nor could anyone else, so he immediately appealed the decision. Facebook ultimately restored the ad, but not before the story gained traction with shares and likes on the company’s page. The results? Gaze has sold more Walla Walla onion seeds in the “last three days than in the last five years,” McLean reported.
Although contacted by various media outlets, Facebook’s only response was to claim that “automated technology” is utilized to censor images. This, of course, begs the question: What in the name of all that’s holy could a programmer have input into that system to cause an automated scanner to detect something sexual in a pile of freaking onions?
Apparently, the automated technology that determined the onions were too sexy for Facebook is the same that decided the name of The Black Cock Inn was “racist or offensive.”
Sources: Alexandra Deabler, Fox News, October 9, 2020; and Alex Kennedy, CBC News, October 5, 2020.
