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We're tired of queer censorship. Are you?
Learn more about what's happening, why it's important, and how you can #SavePRISM.
What's happening?

On January 6th, 2022, PRISM's Instagram account (@prism.fl) was deactivated without warning due to "suspicious activity."

 

After exhausting all automated support options (there is no direct support line for Instagram, Facebook, or their parent company, Meta), we have been unsuccessful in restoring our account thus far. Even after attempting to make a second account (@prism.lgbt), it was flagged and deactivated within 30 minutes.

 

Instagram has always been our home for educating, networking, and fundraising. PRISM receives almost half of its individual donations through Instagram, a platform that we use to reach tens of thousands of youth every day.

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As an LGBTQ-led organization, our staff and volunteers have personally been no stranger to online bigotry and censorship from overzealous algorithms. Queer people have long been the target of homophobic and racially motivated attacks, and now we face something much more dangerous:

 

Big data and AI have made social media algorithms homophobic and racially motivated, too.

 

Now PRISM, an organization that has never had a community guidelines violation on Instagram before, has been forcefully removed from a platform that we use to create a lifeline for thousands of young people.

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Update (2/16/2022): After much persistence, we were able to get our original account (@prism.fl) restored! Thank you so much to Frederick from OutYouth for getting in touch with a Meta team member on our behalf and working to restore our account. However, our fight doesn't end here.

 

Queer censorship is a global problem and it happens every day. We'll be using #SavePRISM until March 29th to continue raising awareness. Please keep sharing the hashtag #SavePRISM to support this fight.

How can I help?

We cannot sit by and allow the vital work we do to be snuffed out by automated systems and corporate apathy.

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That's why we're reaching out to you for help. Use the hashtag #SavePRISM on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok to share a story about:

  • How PRISM has impacted you

  • A social media platform refusing to put a stop to homophobia towards you or someone you know, or

  • Content you've made being taken down simply because you discussed queer topics

 

For every story you share between February 1st and March 29th (PRISM's birthday), these organizations, individuals, and businesses will donate $1 to support our work to make South Florida for every color and for everyone:
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  • Lombucket Ltd

  • Sarah Bruso

  • Maxx Fenning

  • CJ Walden

  • And more!

 

In all, our current donation pledges total $1,200... and we're only three weeks into our campaign!

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Not only does your participation support the work that we do, but it also sheds light on just how important that work is.

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How do I join the pledge?

Do you, your organization, or your business want to join the pledge to #SavePRISM?

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To join the pledge and have your name featured on our "I Support Queer Youth" list, send an email to info@prismfl.org with the subject "#SavePRISM Pledge" and the following:

  • The name of you, your business, or your organization

  • Your maximum total donation pledge (optional)

  • Whether you'd like to be featured publicly on our "I Support Queer Youth" list

  • A picture of you or a logo for your business or organization (optional)

 

For every story shared with the hashtag #SavePRISM, you'll donate $1 to PRISM (up to your maximum pledge amount). We'll tally up the total number of posts on Tuesday, March 29th.

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Resources

Here are some sources that discuss just how harmful AI and big data can be to LGBTQ+ and nonwhite people:

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McCluskey, M. (2020, July 22). Black Tiktok creators say their content is being suppressed. Time. https://time.com/5863350/tiktok-black-creators/

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Tomasev, N., McKee, K. R., Kay, J., & Mohamed, S. (2021). Fairness for unobserved characteristics: Insights from technological impacts on queer communities. Proceedings of the 2021 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461702.3462540

 

York, J. C. (2021, September 21). How LGBTQ+ content is censored under the guise of "sexually explicit". Electronic Frontier Foundation. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/how-lgbtq-content-censored-under-guise-sexually-explicit​

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Nouri, S. (2021, December 10). Council post: The role of bias in Artificial Intelligence. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/04/the-role-of-bias-in-artificial-intelligence/?sh=437ac67d579d

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