Last month, I opened my Facebook account and got a little surprise from them: A nastygram stating I violated their community standards on nudity and sexual activity. I posted a GIF on someone's timeline celebrating the life of an actor who had just died. Here is what Facebook wrote in their nastygram:
It looks like something you posted goes against our Community Standards on nudity and sexual activity on Facebook, so we'll be deleting it.
We understand that you may not have known about our standards, so we'd encourage you to learn more about our specific policies on nudity and sexual activity. If you see something on Facebook that you think goes against one of these standards, you can report it to us.
If you feel strongly your post should not be deleted, you can let us know why.
Thanks.
This is the GIF Facebook flagged for nudity and sexual activity.
Really? That tripped their algorithm? Too funny. Here is my response:
The link you posted is a GIF head shot of the late actor David Ogden Stiers as his M*A*S*H character, Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. In the GIF, a pair of animated sunglasses lowers to his eyes and only one word is posted: Gentlemen. There is no nudity or sexual activity in the GIF. In fact, I picked it from a GIF list on YOUR website.
Last I heard, a head shot GIF of a man in a Korean War era Army Class A uniform, even with the animated sunglasses, does not violate your community standards on nudity and sexual activity. Therefore, I did nothing wrong. Delete the post if you want. It's your website.
Thank you for your time.
After three weeks, Facebook hasn't responded, but that's okay. It doesn't matter if they do. Maybe this episode will inspire a story.