The phrase “food porn” took on new meaning on Facebook this week when the social network’s algorithm accidentally flagged a photo featuring a pile of onions as “overtly sexual.”
As CBC News reports, a Canadian seed company posted about the Walla Walla onion seeds it sells accompanied by a photo featuring a basket full of onions. It’s unclear what Facebook’s AI thought it was looking at, but it was apparently scandalized and removed the image.
The seed company, St. John’s-based Gaze Seed, was notified that “listings may not position products or services in a sexually suggestive manner.”
Gaze Seed made light of the mix-up on its Facebook page, reposting the offending image with a laughing emoji and asking followers, “Can you see it?”
Accidental removals have happened over the years. In 2016, for example, Facebook banned a Norweigan journalist for posting the 1973 Pulitzer Prize-winning picture of a naked Kim Phúc fleeing napalm bombs.
