Misterb&b founder claims Meta removed adverts with LGBTQ+ content: ‘It feels like censorship’
Matthieu Jost says misterb&b were “surprised and frustrated” by Meta’s rejection of the ads. (Getty)
The founder of LGBTQ+ travel resource misterb&b has voiced his disappointment and frustration after Meta removed the company’s ads, in what he claimed “feels like censorship”.
Founded by Matthieu Jost in 2014, after he experienced homophobia while travelling with his partner, misterb&b helps LGBTQ+ people find queer-friendly lodgings around the world and is frequently cited as the largest queer-focused booking app.
Last week, Jost wrote on LinkedIn that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, had “blacklisted” misterb&b advertisements on the platforms because of their “sexual orientation and gender identity”.
The specific message misterb&b received was that its advertisement: “Contains topics related to sexuality or sexual orientation or is directed at individuals with a specific gender identity.“
Last month, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced that the tech giant would no longer moderate posts on topic such as immigration and gender “that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate”, and replaced the independent fact-checking programme with a community notes system, similar to that seen on Elon Musk’s platform, X/Twitter.
The updated guidelines, which are said to have “restored free expression”, allow users to label LGBTQ+ people as mentally ill and describe transgender or non-binary people as “it”.
Meta also rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the company and removed Pride and LGBTQ+ themes from Facebook Messenger.
Speaking exclusively to PinkNews, Jost said that the misterb&b team were “surprised and frustrated” to learn their ads had been rejected.
“Of course, we had heard about Meta’s new guidelines and policies but we never thought it would come so far,” he said. “Our ads were designed to be inclusive, promoting safe and welcoming travel for LGBTQ+ travellers, so it was disappointing to see them blocked.
“It felt like an unnecessary roadblock, especially given the importance of visibility and representation for our community. This goes beyond just a misunderstanding, it feels like censorship. And it’s not limited specifically to the US, we’ve seen our campaigns restricted across multiple regions worldwide.”
Trying to resolve the issue had been “frustrating” and the appeals process was “often slow and opaque, with little transparency about why an ad was rejected”, he added.
“It’s also very frustrating to talk with Meta employees who seem just as shocked as we are by the new policies. They were completely caught off guard and tried to help us in a rather clumsy way, advising us to make our ads ‘less gay’ by removing the rainbow colours, the word ‘gay,’ or creatives featuring gay people.”
The company asked to have their case escalated but two weeks on, the problem remains unresolved.
“It feels like LGBTQ+ businesses are left to navigate an inconsistent system without proper support or recourse,” Jost said.
Since the new polices were brought in, PinkNews has reported on several instances in which LGBTQ+ content has been removed, including a case where the mass removal of posts was allegedly down to a “technical error” and a critical post by an LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation was removed due to “cybersecurity concerns”.
Jost said he had heard of other LGBTQ+ organisations and businesses experiencing the same issues with Meta, and feels it is a pattern and part of a broader set of issues.
“Ads that explicitly mention LGBTQ+ travel or show same-sex couples tend to be flagged more often, even when they comply with all advertising guidelines,” he claimed.
“While Meta doesn’t explicitly state that LGBTQ+ content is the issue, the pattern suggests that the system –whether due to AI moderation or user reports – disproportionately impacts content related to our community.”
Changes at Meta have come as part of a wider push against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes and so-called woke policies in the US, in response to a campaign led by right-ring pundit Robby Starbuck and Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
In recent months, a number of big-name brands have distanced themselves from DEI initiatives, including Walmart, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel’s. In addition, Trump signed an executive order seeking to purge equality programmes from the government and military.
Meta’s oversight board co-chairwoman Helle Thorning-Schmidt has expressed concern at the changes made by the social media giant.
Thorning-Schmidt, who was prime minister of Denmark from 2011 until 2015, and is married to Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, told the BBC that there were “huge problems in what Mark Zuckerberg has announced”, adding: “We welcome looking into fact-checking, we welcome that message, looking into the complexity and perhaps over-enforcement [but] we’re very concerned about gender rights, LGBTQ+ rights, trans people’s rights on the platforms because we are seeing many instances where hate speech can lead to real-life harm.”
Meta did not respond to a PinkNews request for comment.
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