You won’t believe what this woman did to beat Facebook’s real name policy
This woman went to extreme lengths to beat Facebook’s real name policy after being locked out of her account.
The Facebook user formerly known as Jemma Rogers, a holistic therapist from Lewisham, was forced to change her name in order to match her Facebook profile pseudonym.
That’s right – she changed her name to Jemmaroid Von Laalaa, in order to prove to Facebook that was her real name to regain access to her account.
The 30-year-old was locked out of the profile, created in 2008, when Facebook asked for proof of identification.
After attempting to photoshop a bank card to display the pseudonym, and pleading with Facebook to allow her access, she changed her name by deed poll.
On officially changing her name, Von Laalaa was able to apply for a driving licence and bank cards, in an attempt to regain access to her account.
“I know I’ve been a completely moron, but Facebook are being ridiculous,” she said.
“They should be able to tell it’s a genuine account but just under a fake name, I can’t believe I am being punished like this.”
She has since been allowed back into her Facebook profile. Facebook said in this instance, a mistake was made.
A statement sent to PinkNews from Facebook reads: “Facebook asks people to use their authentic names, as we believe this makes people more accountable for what they say. In this instance we made a mistake but we reactivated the account last week. We apologise for any inconvenience that this caused.”.
Last week, an Ethiopian LGBT activist and leader had his account blocked by Facebook for not using his real name.
The social network has come under fire for banning members of the LGBT community from using the site without their real names.
Facebook banned hundreds of drag artists from the website last summer for not using their legal names on their profiles – which was later revealed to be the work of one user submitting a vast number of malicious reports.
The company promised to alter its ‘real name’ policy to allow trans people and drag artists to use their chosen names if they prefer – but no changes were ever made, and people still face bans.
In a cruel ironic twist this month, a trans woman who used to work for Facebook and helped develop their inclusive gender options has been banned from the site for violating the ‘real name’ policy.
Mr Zuckerberg was asked about the policy in a Q&A on the website, and said that trans people should not be banned for not using their legal names.
Update: This article was updated on 13 July at 17:40 to reflect that Ms Von Laalaa has been allowed access to her Facebook account, and a statement from Facebook was added.
