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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday April 17 2018, @01:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the moving-into-the-21st-century dept.

Chinese Social Media Site Reverses Gay Content Ban After Uproar

Bowing to intense pressure from millions of internet users, a Chinese social media site said on Monday that it would scrap plans to censor cartoons and video games with gay themes. The site, Sina Weibo, had announced on Friday that it would target gay content as part of a campaign to remove pornographic and violent material from its site. But its efforts were almost immediately criticized as discriminatory and repressive, spawning an outpouring of #Iamgay hashtags and slogans like "gays aren't scary."

On Monday, Weibo said in a post that it would scale back its "cleanup" effort and focus on "pornographic, violent and bloody content" instead of gay material. In a nod to the intense backlash, it thanked internet users for their "discussion and suggestions." [...] Ma Baoli, the founder of Blued, a popular gay dating app, called the uproar a "historic event" in China. He said Weibo's response showed a gradual change in attitudes toward gay people.

[...] Weibo's "cleanup" campaign highlighted the intense pressure that media companies in China face to purge sites of content that the authorities deem offensive. Experts said the government's vague definition of improper content often results in companies' going to extremes to show compliance.

Weibo is China's Twitter.

See also: Weibo to ban gay, violent content from platform
'I Am Gay, Not a Pervert': Furor in China as Sina Weibo Bans Gay Content

Related: Chinese Lesbian Dating App Rela Shuts Down


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  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @04:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 17 2018, @04:36PM (#668163)

    Yep. Because lesbianism is right and good because guys can hang their heads in shame. What did we ever do to turn that girl into a lesbian! We are so ashamed and so sorry! We will all self-flagellate for turning a girl off to men forever!

    It couldn't possibly happen that way for gay men. They're just sickos and should be put to death. And straight guys like lesbian pr0n, so there's your real reason.

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