Facebook banned cocktail expert after he joked that peas should be illegal

FB's algorithms thought it was an incitement to violence.

Stand against censorship and surveillance: join Reclaim The Net.

A celebrity cocktail guru was suspended from Facebook for joking about peas. The social media giant said that the account was suspended in error.

Callum Oakley, who presents a cocktail show on Sky called “The Craft Store,” was barred from accessing his Facebook account after joking about peas.

The 33-year-old posted: “Unpopular opinion — peas of all forms should be illegal. Collect them all and set them on fire.”

Speaking to The Sun, Oakley said that the suspension came five minutes after publishing the post. Facebook told him that the post violated its community guidelines on inciting violence.

“I don’t know where on Earth they’ve come up with that,” Oakley said.

He appealed the decision and was told the issue would be decided by the platform’s Oversight Board.

The cocktail expert uses Facebook to promote his mobile bar, the Misused Cocktails. He feared losing thousands of followers.

However, his account was reinstated after The Sun reached out to Facebook.

Facebook told The Sun that the post was “removed in error and has now been restored.”

Stand against censorship and surveillance: join Reclaim The Net.

Fight censorship and surveillance. Reclaim your digital freedom.

Get news updates, features, and alternative tech explorations to defend your digital rights.

Read More

Share this post…