It looks like the Facebook "real name" policy is here to stay -- and artists and performers from all over the globe are not happy about it.
Over the past several weeks Facebook has been targeting users operating personal profiles under a pseudonym, stage name, or any name not matching their legal name. This policy implementation is reportedly not new but seems to have been rarely enforced before now and is affecting a wide-range of people (both queer and not).
Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence even organized a face-to-face meeting with Facebook to discuss the implications of the policy -- which did not turn out well. Though Facebook agreed to restore profiles that were deleted, the company said they would delete them again after two weeks.
In response, Legendary Children Atlanta, a group that "showcases drag's power to build communities of queer acceptance within the South," has released a new video written and performed by Brigitte Bidet called "WTF, Zuck?"
"Facebook is targeting drag queens for having secondary profiles because of their social and marketing value,'" Brigitte Bidet said in a statement to The Huffington Post. "'Internet worth' is a new form of currency, and having more than one profile skews their statistics relating to social trends and internet culture. By switching to an alternate social network like Twitter or Ello, drag queens will inevitably lose contact with a portion of their fanbase. Facebook's argument is that entertainers should create pages that fans can 'like' yet the reach of those pages is slim unless you pay to promote them. Basically, it's a loophole in their business model that they're trying to protect and Brigitte thinks it sucks."
RuPaul also recently spoke out about the "Real Name" policy, telling The Hollywood Reporter, "In showbiz, there's no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right. But it's bad policy when Facebook strips the rights of creative individuals who have blossomed into something even more fabulous than the name their mama gave them."
If you're interested in exploring other emerging social media outlets, check out Ello. It is currently invite-only, but if you have a friend on the network reach out for an invite.
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