A photo posted to Facebook of two men kissing has been removed from the site because it "violated" the social network's "State of Rights and Responsibilities."
It may not mean it's all-out war on gay kissing photos, but it was a chilling experience in light of the big picture: The photo was previously used in Britain to promote a demonstration against a Soho pub which kicked out two men because they were supposedly kissing in the corner of the bar.
Ironically, a Facebook event page had been set up for the pub protest — and that page is no longer available for viewing. The protest itself drew hundreds of people, according to the BBC, including the two men who were kissing, Jonathan Williams, 26, and Jamie Bull, 23.
Online talk show host Richard Metzger ("Dangerous Minds") also posted the photo and a story about the protest on Facebook. He says he was sent this email from "The Facebook Team":
Content that you shared on Facebook has been removed because it violated Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Shares that contain nudity, or any kind of graphic or sexually suggestive content, are not permitted on Facebook.
This message serves as a warning. Additional violations may result in the termination of your account. Please read the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities carefully and refrain from posting abusive material in the future. Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
Metzger believes the photo was removed after a complaint by one of his "friends" — obviously is not a close one — who also ranted about it on Metzger's Facebook page.
"I’ve written to Facebook asking them why this content was removed, but have at this point received no reply," Metzger says on his site. "I’ll update this post when I do. In the meantime, why not share this photo on FB as much as you can? I’m hoping they’ll restore the post as it was so everyone can pile on the jerk who wrote all the homophobic stuff on my FB wall. I think that’s the best outcome here."
— Via Gawker
Update: Dangerous Minds.net said Monday afternoon PT that the photo of the two men is "a promotional still from the British soap opera 'Eastenders,' " and that the Facebook event page was not taken down by Facebook, but rather was made "private" by the event organizer after the protest. There "were starting to be trolls posting abusive nonsense on it," he said.
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