David Bridges
Facebook has reversed a decision to ban advertising of a Holocaust film entitled Beautiful Blue Eyes – having initially argued that the title violated their policy on racially-offensive names.
The title refers to the eye color of a child who died at the hands of the Nazis, and invokes a key scene in the movie.
Yet Facebook in early September banned the showing of the trailer on their site, saying it ran contrary to their policy against content that ‘includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race,’ among other personal attributes.
It is still unclear how the film’s title violated the race policy, given that blue eyes are not exclusive to only one race.
The film’s director accused Facebook of ‘alarming’ censorship that should worry ‘every decent and sane human being on this planet’.
On Friday, Facebook’s parent company Meta told Ars Technica that the Facebook owner reviewed the case and decided to reverse the ban. It is unclear whether that meant Zuckerberg himself got involved.
‘We reviewed the ads and page in question and determined that the enforcement was made in error, so we lifted the restriction,’ said a Meta spokesperson.
Roy Scheider, star of Jaws, filmed Beautiful Blue Eyes shortly before his 2008 death. It has now been re-edited and re-released
Beautiful Blue Eyes is the final film made by Jaws actor Roy Scheider, who died in 2008 aged 75.
The movie was initially released in 2009, but thanks to new technology the director, Joshua Newton, was able to rework it for release this month.
One of the cameras was not working during the filming, and some shots were lost. Newton was able to use AI technology to repair the damaged frames, and release the movie as he had originally intended.
Bur Newton was told at the beginning of this month that the film was being blacklisted by Facebook for its title – a move he said was horrifying.
‘Every decent and sane human being on this planet should be alarmed by Meta-Facebook’s ban on the advertising of a Holocaust-related film,’ said Newton.
‘Mark Zuckerberg has created a monster that has no oversight,’ he told Rolling Stone, speaking at the Toronto Film Festival.
‘It’s one thing to be flagged by an algorithm. It’s another for Meta-Facebook employees to review the flag and uphold it, knowing full well that the title is not discriminatory and that the film is Holocaust-related.’
The film tells the story of Joseph, played by Scheider – a Holocaust survivor who moved to New York and joined the NYPD. Joseph learns that the Nazi guard who murdered his entire family is living under an assumed identity in Germany, and formulates a plan to murder him.
Scheider’s character Joseph is haunted by memories of the SS guard who killed his family
The film was released earlier this month, despite Facebook’s refusal to promote it
Newton’s parents were Holocaust survivors and he based the film in part on his father’s experiences.
Yet the film’s distributor told Newton they had been informed the film could not be advertised on Facebook as it violated its policy against content that ‘includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race,’ among other personal attributes.
Newton said he couldn’t believe Zuckerberg could condone such an action.
‘This is the action of haters – and there are sadly many in our society – who seek to damage the film in order to trivialize the Holocaust,’ said Newton.
‘Surely, Mark Zuckerberg did not intend this to happen.’
Newton appealed, but Facebook refused to reconsider.
‘After a requested review of your Facebook account, we confirmed it didn’t comply with our Advertising Policies or other standards,’ they replied, according to Rolling Stone.
‘You can no longer advertise using Facebook Products. This is our final decision.’
Mark Zuckerberg (left) was accused by the film director Joshua Newton (right) of having ‘created a monster’
Advertising for the film, including trailers, was now ‘permanently restricted,’ they said.
On Friday Facebook changed its mind, after Newton said he was considering taking legal action.
‘Clearly, [Mark Zuckerberg] is far too busy developing his company’s presence in the metaverse,’ Newton said.
‘Instead of focussing on virtual reality, Zuckerberg should take note of what is happening in the real world.’
Maya Kensington
