Brody's Notes... Brooklyn-Based Gay Author's Facebook Fan Page Removed

Kenneth Walsh   Photo Courtesy of Kenneth-In-The-212 blogsite

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 2 | New York City writer & editor Kenneth M. Walsh, who lives and blogs from Manhattan covering pop culture, politics, books, celebrity, music, & tennis, reported on Thursday that Brooklyn based Gay author Frank Anthony Polito's Facebook Fan Page was removed due to a violation of terms of service. According to Walsh:

"Facebook dismantled my pal Frank Anthony Polito's fan page for his novel "Band Fags" because "pages that are hateful, threatening, or obscene are not allowed." Was this done by a computer program that flagged the word "fags" or is someone at Facebook really this moronic?"

Polito, in a written statement published on Walsh's blogsite 'Kenneth In The 212' said:

My name is Frank Anthony Polito. I'm a Brooklyn-based playwright and author of the novel BAND FAGS!, released in June 2008 from Kensington Books. BAND FAGS! has since been named "Best Fiction" by the InsightOut Book Club, and was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. It has received critical praise in such national publications as The Advocate, and Instinct Magazine, and I have been interviewed on national radio programs on the Sirius Network. 

Like any other emerging author, I created a fan page on Facebook to help promote my book and connect with readers at www.facebook.com/bandfags To date, I have amassed a good 200 fans, who I have kept in contact with over the past almost two years. 

Tonight, when I logged onto my Facebook account, I received the following warning:

You created a Page that has violated our Terms of Use. A Facebook Page is a distinct presence used solely for business or promotional purposes. Among other things, Pages that are hateful, threatening, or obscene are not allowed. We also take down Pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorized individual. If your Page was removed for any of the above reasons, it will not be reinstated. Continued misuse of Facebook's features could result in the permanent loss of your account. If you have any questions or concerns, you can visit the Terms applicable to Facebook Pages at http://www.facebook.com/terms_pages.php. 

And voila! My BAND FAGS! a novel fan page has been REMOVED from Facebook! 

While I understand that the word "fag" is offensive to some individuals, I find it ridiculous for Facebook to deem my fan page a "violation" of terms without further looking into matters. This is clearly a violation against me as a gay author. 

I would contact Facebook with regards to this matter, but they make it next to impossible to contact them regarding ANYTHING on their site.

Since the publication of that article, online today the  ADVOCATE.COM has picked up the story. In a statement to The Advocate, Polito says the Facebook page was created in 2008, around the time the book was published, and had been on the site for almost two years before being removed.

"I had no trouble creating the page or claiming the URL facebook.com/bandfags," he says. "What bothers me about the whole Facebook thing is ... it's like they have some robot scanning through all of the pages on the site looking for 'offensive' words. When they came across 'fag' attached to mine, no one bothered to investigate why it's there. They just assumed that I'm some hateful gay-basher and took down my book's fan page."

Polito knew the title of his book would be considered controversial, but says,

"As anyone who has read the book knows, in the story all kids in the band are called 'band fags,' not just the gay ones. But for the gay ones, the moniker especially stings because the 'fag' part is true."

Polito says he has contacted Facebook and filed an appeal that explains his circumstance, but as of Friday afternoon had not received a response.