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AIAAIC-1755

Facebook AI bans female photo charity Hundred Heroines

Hundred Heroines, a British charity dedicated to promoting women in photography, was banned by Facebook for ten years due to a faulty AI-powered algorithm. The charity's title, which includes "heroines," was mistakenly flagged by Facebook's content moderation system as violating community guidelines, likely confusing it with the illegal substance "heroin". Founded by Dr. Del Barrett, Hundred Heroines aims to celebrate both historical and contemporary female photographers in a field traditionally dominated by men. The charity expressed frustration over its inability to resolve the issue with Facebook, stating that had it been named "Hundred Heroes," it likely would not have faced such a ban - highlighting a perceived gender bias in content moderation systems . In response to the ban, Hundred Heroines created a new page called HH Museum while continuing efforts to restore their original content. The incident highlights ongoing challenges faced by women in the arts and raises questions about the effectiveness of automated moderation systems on large social media platforms, particularly regarding its ability to understand context and nuance. System 🤖 Facebook content moderation system Operator: Hundred Heroines Developer: Facebook Country: UK Sector: Media/entertainment/sports/arts Purpose: Moderate content Technology: Content moderation system; Machi ne learning Issue: Accountability; Accuracy/reliability; Fairness

Date it happened
2024-09-01
Organisation involved
Facebook
Product, system or model
Facebook content moderation system
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This incident was imported from AIAAIC and is used under CC BY-SA 4.0. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.

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