The feminist group did not ask Holliday for permission to use her photo.
Facebook is known for its strict policy regarding advertisements and the images that they use. Not long ago, they banned a photo of a naked man holding his boy in the shower arguing that it violates the terms of the website. Now, they attracted the wrath of a feminist group by rejecting an ad featuring a plus sized model.
The Australian Cherchez la Femme team was trying to advertise an event called “Feminism and Fat.” For the cover image of the aforementioned event, the representatives of the group chose a picture depicting Tess Holliday, a plus sized model, wearing a bikini.
However, Facebook did not consider the image appropriate for the viewers, so they sent an email to the feminist group explaining that:
“The image depicts a body or body parts in an undesirable manner. Ads may not represent a state of health or body weight as being perfect or extremely undesirable. […] Ads like these are not allowed since they make viewers feel bad about themselves.”
In the comment that accompanied the screenshot, one of the CLF members complained about Facebook fat-shaming its users arguing that Holiday is as much as a model as any other girl posing in a bikini for a magazine cover.
It didn’t take too long for the post to go viral and attract the attention of Facebook employees. A few hours after the screenshot was taken, a spokesperson from Facebook apologized, claiming that the rejection was based on an error.
“Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads. This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologize for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad.”
The CLF members are not pleased with the apology emitted by the social network. They say that the company only retracted their rejection because of the negative attention they were starting to receive. The women are convinced that, given the opportunity, the platform will continue to reject pictures of plus-sized models.
Facebook is not the only advertising entity to suffer from repercussions due to banned commercials. Currently, both ABC and NBC are in hot water of a rejected Lane Bryant advertisement.
Image source: YouTube
