Facebook to fix system which tried to suggest ads for ‘faggots’

The system asks advertisers to draw up a list of the keywords that reflect their target customer’s online activity before they post an ad.

When a new advert is set up with this list, the system automatically generates some related terms it thinks they should consider using.

But as Darren Hemmings, found to his surprise this month, some keywords prompted Facebook to suggest searching for ‘faggot (slang)’.

He said: “I was left speechless […] Is this really a word Facebook should be using within its platform – a word I could probably get fired and/or arrested for using in work or on the street?”

Facebook does already ban some words on the ad targeting system, which generates the related keywords automatically.

Adverts have to be approved by a Facebook employee and if such an advert were filed it would breach the network’s advertising policies so would appear to stand little chance of going live on the site.  Read More