Facebook is repeatedly rejecting video game ads for “sexually suggestive” imagery

It’s no secret that Facebook is a little picky with its content guidelines, often flagging and blocking advertisements from being posted in order to protect its user base. Sometimes this can go a little too far, as developers Team Meat and Devolver Digital have discovered recently.

At the end of last month, Team Meat found its Super Meat Boy advertisement rejected on the grounds that the imagery was sexually explicit. The scene in question showed protagonists Meat Boy and Bandage Girl facing the villainous Dr. Fetus with their backs turned to the spectator. Due to their status as anthropomorphic pieces of meat, they have no need for clothes and therefore showed their butts, characterised by two subtle lines.

Good thing Facebook is so on top of the content on their site!!! Now if you'll excuse me I found a very interesting and factual facebook group about how the earth is flat.

— Team Meat (@SuperMeatBoy) December 21, 2018

The developer kept its sense of humour, posting a tweet stating “good thing Facebook is so on top of the content on their site!!! Now if you'll excuse me I found a very interesting and factual facebook group about how the earth is flat.”

GRIS developer Devolver Digital found itself in a similar boat last week, outraged that advertisement for the indie game was also pulled. At first, the studio explained that its silhouetted art style depicting the statue of a woman was to blame; however the social media platform has confirmed to Polygon that this wasn’t the reason for the ad being blocked.

Facebook rejected a GRIS launch trailer ad for this ‘sexually suggestive’ scene so this year is going great so far. pic.twitter.com/frVaYOXIHe

— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) January 7, 2019

Devolver Digital’s Facebook advertisement linked to its Instagram account, which, when clicked on, showcased a prominent advertisement for the game SCUM. In this image, a much more realistic portrayal of buttocks was on display, breaching Facebook guidelines. While Facebook tries to remain interconnected with other competing websites, linking to them means that the user is subject to Facebook’s advertisement policies.

KitGuru Says: This honestly seems like a bit of a stretch to call the imagery “sexual content,” especially in the case of Super Meat Boy. What do you think, does it say more about Facebook’s sensitive guidelines or the video game world’s obsession over butts?

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