The Facebook page of Lesbian Bisexual Feminists has been shut for the reason of “pornography”. LezBiFem criticized that Facebook continues to censor LGBTIs while simultaneously running campaigns like #LoveWins during Pride Week.
Source: “Lezbiyen Biseksüel Feministlere Facebook Sansürü”, (“Facebook Censorship of Lesbian Bisexual Feminists”), kaosGL, 12 February 2016, http://kaosgl.org/sayfa.php?id=21079
Facebook Turkey’s management shut down the Lesbian Bisexual Feminists’ page. The reason for the censorship was that the content shared on the page “violated [Facebook’s] community standards”.
The most recent contents shared on the page were an invitation to a conference by [women’s rights organization] Mor Çatı, an article titled “Bras; A Product of Patriarchy” on biliyomuydun.com, and the poster for LezBiFem’s planned party on 13 February. When LezBiFem promoted the party poster through advertisements, Facebook had stated that the image did not fit advertising standards.
Campaigns for Pride Week and then censor LGBTIs!
After the closure of their Facebook page, LezBiFem told KaosGL.org that “the Lesbian Bisexual Feminists are now the target of Facebook’s morality”.
LezBiFem said, “We are guessing that our page was removed by Facebook after last night’s post on bras did not abide by community morality” and criticized that Facebook continues to censor LGBTIs when it simultaneously runs campaigns like #LoveWins during Pride Week:
“Facebook supposedly creates a free social arena through its Love Wins campaign throughout Pride Week but has now peaked with its anti-woman, heteronormative, and morality-based example”.
This is not Facebook’s first LGBTI censorship!
This is not the first time Facebook has censored LGBTIs. Previously during the 2015 Pride Week, the event page “Lesbian Sexual Health: Myths and Truths” was closed due to the community standards reason.
Facebook Turkey’s management had also censored KaosGL.org’s news story titled “Naked against homophobia” in July 2015. The article was removed from shared content for violating community standards.
Facebook’s censorship was not limited to KaosGL.org. Bianet’s news story on Facebook’s censorship of Kaos GL’s article that depicted the Brazilian gay couple who shed their clothes against homophobia was also censored.