It seems the word “penis” is taboo for the censoring staff at Facebook.
The social media giant has banned a tell-all political book by former Cuomo and de Blasio aide Karen Hinton called “Penis Politics” because of its saucy title — and despite the fact it’s about sexism in government.
Hinton’s publisher had planned on launching an ad campaign on Facebook today — but the ads were rejected by stiffs at the social media giant.
Yet while banning Hinton’s book about sexual harassment, Facebook has been criticized for promoting misogynistic content and violence toward women.
Hinton exclusively told Page Six, “Today Facebook banned ads for my upcoming book ‘Penis Politics’ because the company objects to the title.
“Facebook should be ashamed. My book is about toxic power relationships in schools, the media and politics. It’s not about sex.”
Her memoir, out on Dec. 1, is about “the toxic brew of ego, entitlement, and bro-culture” in politics. It follows her op-ed coining the term “penis politics” to describe how powerful men assert control over women in a subordinate position.
Hinton, who worked with disgraced governor Cuomo when he was at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, has previously publicly accused him of bullying and “inappropriately” hugging her two decades ago.
Hinton continued to Page Six, “Facebook’s actions are not surprising. The company has a documented history of promoting misogynistic content and sexual violence against women. Yet they are afraid of the word ‘penis’ in a book about sexual harassment.
“Facebook also employs a double standard which is mind-boggling in 2021. Facebook features pages and pages about the highly acclaimed play, ‘Vagina Monologues.’
“They embrace ‘vagina’ but appear to be scared off by a little ‘penis.’ The advertising campaign on Facebook for my book was supposed to start today.
“I am calling on Facebook to reverse this decision and stand for free speech, not banning books.”
Facebook has previously been accused of promoting misogyny and sexual violence: In August, members of the US Congress and female politicians from the European Union said Facebook must step up and protect women in politics from threats of violence and sexism on its platform.
“We are imploring Facebook to do more to protect the ability of women to engage in democratic discourse and to foster a safe and empowering space for women,” said a letter, led by US Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who is also co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus.
Then last month, an investigation revealed their platform algorithms actively promote misogynistic content to certain users.
Facebook and Instagram users who show signs of hostility toward women online are more likely to then have pages recommended to them that reference sexual violence, disturbing memes about sex acts and content condoning gendered violence.
The BBC “Panorama” investigators and researchers at think tank Demos also found the majority of abuse targeted at public figures is targeted at black and Asian users.
Plus a scathing report by the Wall Street Journal also revealed the tech giant’s employees pushed to suppress right-wing outlets such as Breitbart.
It followed a series of bombshell revelations from whistleblowers about bias and craving for profits at the social media colossus.
In April this year, Facebook again silenced the New York Post from reporting the news, when it decided its users should not be able to share a New York Post article about the property-buying habits of one of the founders of Black Lives Matter.
Facebook said in a statement, “There is nothing about the content of these ads that prevent them from running, but they do require the advertiser to complete the political ad authorization process.”