Chains no problem. Nudity yes. (1)

Facebook incorrectly removes picture of Aboriginal men in chains because of 'nudity'
by Josh Taylor

“Courtesy of Guardian News & Media Ltd”.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jun/13/facebook-incorrectly-removes-picture-of-aboriginal-men-in-chains-because-of-nudity

Facebook incorrectly removed a post critical of the prime minister’s comments regarding slavery in Australia that featured a photograph of Aboriginal men in neck chains from the late 1800s, claiming the photo featured nudity.

On Thursday, Scott Morrison said that there was no slavery in this country.

(...)

Following his comments on Thursday, debate on social media was rife with discussion of Australia’s history of slavery. One Australian user posted about the topic on his personal Facebook profile, including a photo of nine Aboriginal men chained together by their necks wearing loin cloths outside Roebourne Gaol in 1896.

“Kidnapped, ripped from the arms of their loved ones and forced into back-breaking labour: The brutal reality of life as a Kanaka worker - but Scott Morrison claims ‘there was no slavery in Australia’,” the post stated.”

The photo from the state library of Western Australia refers to the men as prisoners, and the photo had been shared in stories about Morrison’s comments in the Daily Mail.

The post was removed by Facebook, and the man had his account restricted, with Facebook claiming the photo contained nudity and was in breach of the social media site’s community standards.

The post was restored after Guardian Australia asked Facebook about whether the photo had been flagged in error. Facebook apologised to the user late on Friday and restored the post.

A spokeswoman for Facebook said the photo was removed by the automated system in error.

“We apologise for this mistake,” she said.

As of Saturday morning, Facebook was blocking users from sharing Guardian Australia’s story based on its use of the image.

(...)