Elisa Barbari, a local writer from Bologna, Italy, where the iconic statue stands, attempted to use the image to advertise her Facebook page: \u201cStories, curiosities and views of Bologna.\u201d
\u201cI wanted to promote my page but it seems that for Facebook the statue is a sexually explicit image that shows off too much flesh,\u201d claimed Barbari , whose advert was denied by Facebook. \u201cReally, Neptune? This is crazy!\u201d
\u201cBack in the 1950s, during celebrations for school children graduating, they used to cover up Neptune,\u201d she continued . \u201cMaybe Facebook would prefer the statue to be dressed again\u2026 How can a work of art, our very own statue of Neptune, be the object of censorship?\u201d
In their statement, Facebook cited the social network\u2019s rules against \u201cnude bodies\u201d as the reason why the image was censored, adding that there were no exceptions for \u201cartistic or educational reasons.\u201d
\u201cThe use of the image was not approved because it violates Facebook\u2019s guide lines on advertising,\u201d declared Facebook . \u201cIt presents an image with content that is explicitly sexual and which shows to an excessive degree the body, concentrating unnecessarily on body parts.\u201d
\u201cThe use of images or video of nude bodies or plunging necklines is not allowed, even if the use is for artistic or educational reasons,\u201d they concluded.
In September, Facebook came under criticism after they censored an iconic image from the Vietnam war, portraying a naked crying girl during a napalm attack .
The censorship of the image led to sanctions by the company against Norwegian author Tom Egeland, the editor of Norway\u2019s largest newspaper Epsen Egil Hansen, and even the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who eventually received an apology from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Afterposten editor Epsen Egil Hansen criticized Facebook\u2019s move , proclaiming that he thought the company were \u201cabusing\u201d their power, while Prime Minister Erna Solberg claimed that \u201cWhat they do in removing such pictures, whatever their reasons, is to edit our common history.\u201d
The social network has also taken a firm stance against harmless comedy meme pages, deleting and then reinstating the popular anti-SJW page \u201cMeninist,\u201d removing anti-Hillary Clinton comedy pages , and even sanctioning page admins for uploading pictures of the rapper Drake morphed into a Nintendo 64 controller , forcing Facebook\u2019s top content creators to start numerous revolts against the social network .
However, Facebook have repeatedly refused to deal with real violations of their policy, including a picture that portrayed a robed man beheading a police officer that was posted by a Black Panther page , and numerous pages threatening or calling for the execution of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump .
Social media entrepreneur and WTF Magazine owner Jason M. Fyk , who is a part of the #PowerToThePages Facebook censorship awareness group , told Breitbart Tech that Facebook\u2019s purge of pages meant that he had to let go of his former employees and rethink his business steps after they reduced his traffic substantially. He was even sanctioned by the site for posting a picture of Family Guy cartoon star Peter Griffin dancing while holding his digital man-boobs.
\u201cFacebook literally saved my life. I wouldn\u2019t be where I am right now in life and for that I thank Mark Zuckerberg directly, but don\u2019t take away freedom of thought and expression,\u201d said Fyk to Breitbart Tech. \u201cFacebook has become something far more than just a business. People\u2019s lives are effected by it. It supports single parents and gives some people outlets to express who they are. You\u2019re hurting family\u2019s both those that post and those that view our content. Please reconsider your stance on content because Facebook is important to all of us.\u201d
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.<\/p>\n

\n

\nSimilarity rank: 0\n<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n