Though it was often called the “Gay Pride Flag” at first, it’s now come to represent a much broader community than just gay men. Baker and a friend named Lynn Segerblom, also known as Faerie Argyle Rainbow, developed a rainbow version that had eight colors, with a hot pink stripe later removed because it was difficult to dye. There, he befriended Milk, who challenged him to create a symbol for what was then more commonly called the gay community. Baker had served in the Army, and moved to San Francisco following his honorable discharge. The history of the Pride flag can be traced back to Harvey Milk, the famous San Francisco city Supervisor, and his friend Gilbert Baker in the 1970s. The company continued to say that the icon is not something Facebook or Instagram controls, but that it is investigating multiple comments on Ridwan’s account at the moment which have used the anti-LGBT icon.None of those symbols was particularly widespread in modern times, however. “This isn’t an emoji that we offer at Instagram, and when we become aware that it’s being used to attack people, we’ll remove it.” In a statement, a Facebook company spokesperson told Indy100: “We want everyone to feel safe and welcome on Instagram, and we don’t allow content that attacks people because of who they are - whether it’s their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Account suspensions are also something the board expects to look at in the future.” This could include recommendations on account enforcement in particular scenarios. When asked about whether the enforcement could extend to accounts, a spokesperson for the oversight board said: “The board has broad ability to deliver recommendations that we believe will improve Facebook’s approach to content moderation. You can appeal decisions on posts and statuses, as well as photos, videos, comments and shares,” a news article from the board reads. “After you have exhausted Facebook’s appeals process, you will receive an Oversight Board reference ID in your support inbox and can appeal the decision to the Board.
Previously, the board - an independent panel which reviews content decisions made by the social media company – could only pass judgement on material removed from the platform, not content which remained after a user reported it. The launch of #BanTheHateEmoji came just days before Facebook’s Oversight Board announced that it would allow appeals from users around content left up on Facebook or Instagram. Their account was later reinstated, but only after a campaign to have it unsuspended was launched on their behalf. In December, the creator was banned from Instagram following an “influx of reports” from users leaving the hate emoji on their posts. It isn’t the first time Ridwan has encountered issues on the platform either. These people have found my email address and are sending similar hate-filled emails as well,” they said. “When I block these accounts, new accounts are being created to attack me. “I am now receiving vitriolic comments and messages including death threats and videos of the rainbow flag being burned and replaced with a Nazi swastika every day. Since launching the campaign, Ridwan says they have received increased levels of abuse on the platform. #BanTheHateEmoji involves several demands for Instagram, including filtering out the ‘hate emoji’ from comments, better diversity and inclusion training for comment and account moderators, and making “continued abuse towards LGBTQIA+ accounts more clearly stated” as being against the app’s rules.
“Even if it is not possible to prevent users from making this symbol … Instagram has a responsibility to overhaul their Community Guidelines to protect LGBTQIA+ creators,” Ridwan said. Speaking to Indy100, Ridwan added that they have been trying to get the attention of Instagram to make a statement on the icon and why it is not against the platform’s guidelines. “A $100 billion tech company *must* be tech-savvy enough to automatically remove the symbol and ban users seen utilising it to abuse us.” In an Instagram post detailing their campaign, Ridwan writes: “These guidelines are protecting bullies and bigots, leaving LGBTQIA+ people to face this abuse without the tools to stop it.