This article was originally published by QNews. You can find the original article here.
Regional LGBTQI+ groups on Facebook are being targeted and shut down for breaching ‘Community Standards’.
Many in our community use the social media platform Facebook to access support and information.
For LGBTIQ+ communities it can provide important support when needed, especially for those in remote or closeted spaces.
However, as online abuse and misinformation continue to rise on the platform, so does the flagging of posts that share LGBTQI+ support.
Now LGBTQI+ Facebook Groups seem under threat as Meta’s process shut them down for no clear reason.
That’s the case for SurfCoast for Equality and Bundaberg Gays and surrounding.
The admins found their pages suddenly shut down this weekend.
Starting Saturday both groups received notifications that old posts were breaching community standards.
While they requested a review of the posts by the weekend’s end, their pages were disabled.
“Every requested review was declined.” Beven from Bundaberg Gays said.
“Even though we requested reviews, we were told they were sticking by their decision.
“The issue listed with the posts was cybersecurity, with potential links to malicious software.
“We had a big heap of posts removed and after requesting reviews we were shut down four hours later.”
The same thing happened to Merrin, founder of SurfCoast for Equality.
Her page was suspended on the weekend, reinstated after a review, and she awoke to it disabled Sunday morning.
“Some of our posts were flagged about Trans Awareness Week,” Merrin said,
“Or a post letting the community know we’re glad they were there.
“And suddenly we were suspended for spreading malicious content.”
What exactly is a community violation?
It seems simple. Posts that violate Community Standards are removed from groups.
This includes hate speech, which, if violations continue could see a group shut down.
And if Facebook finds your page in violation of their Community Standards they will disable it.
But when you look at what is allowed on the platform, you have to wonder where the line in the sand is drawn.
“I have seen a massive increase in bigoted posts, memes and more attacking like our rainbow community.” Ben from Bundaberg Gays told us.
“But when you report those sorts of posts you’re told it does not go against their community standards.
Both SurfCoast for Equality and Bundaberg Gays and surrounding have been suspended.
While the admins have requested a review, they aren’t holding their breath.
When discussing the kind of posts that were flagged, the only connection was the LGBTQI+ community.
“Some posts flagged were about Trans Awareness Week, another was saying trans rights are human rights.”
“I even had a post flagged that I shared from Gippsland Pride,” Merrin said.
“I started sharing the links in posts in the comments because someone suggested that was a way to avoid being flagged.”
“But it just kept saying that I was flagged for sharing malicious content.”
“The posts that we had flagged were about mental health and the transgender, intersex and bi communities,” Bevan told us.
“But what struck out was when a post from Bevan was flagged directing people towards mental health support.” Ben said,
“That has QLife listed, Beyond Blue, The Black Dog Institute and Headspace.
“We even had a post that we shared from the Queensland Council for LGBT Health.”
It’s hard to not feel like our communities are being targeted on the platform.
Online groups break down isolation
A lot of work goes into groups such as these because people in regional communities can feel disconnected without them.
SurfCoast for Equality started about 8 years ago in the lead-up to the Marriage Equality Postal Survey.
When the page was launched they had 750 members in two days.
“I think about the number of people who use the group for safety and advice, especially from a regional perspective.”
“It’s concerning to think it’s taken away without proper warning or respect for what that holds,” Merrin told us.
“Facebook used to be so much more accessible.”
“Younger people can go to another platform but that’s all a lot of middle-aged people understand.
“We were very careful about what we posted and now our only option is to keep requesting reviews.”
Running online for four years, Bundaberg Gays and surrounding have been meeting physically for just over a year.
“We cover 250 kilometres and it was a great way to share information.”
“I’m pretty doubtful we’re going to get the group back.”
“We had a social barbecue Sunday and it felt like a funeral.” Bevan said.
“Members were all upset and frightened. Feeling so unsafe on Facebook there was talk of leaving the platform.”
“Bundaberg is a regional and conservative area and it feels like we are heading back to the days of going underground.” Ben said
“We still have a lot of closeted gay men in our community who were just starting to feel safe.
“This is a massive backtrack for our community.
“Online groups provide a space for people to be able to find information and find community.
“To have it removed is really terrible.”
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