A fishmonger based in London was left scratching his head after a video he had posted on Instagram was flagged as offensive.
Fishmonger Censored By Instagram
Rex Goldsmith who owns The Chelsea Fishmonger said that the post only showed his store's seafood display. However, for some reason, it was greyed out and it had a warning message over it saying that the content might be "disturbing." This is the second time that his post was censored by Instagram.
Goldsmith, who has 2,600 followers, thought that his content was being reported as offensive by some users who might be vegan. He said that while he is not aware if other fishmongers who use the platform have had similar experiences, but he knows that a few butchers were censored.
"I totally understand censorship — but when you think that Instagram is owned by Facebook, and if you look at some of the videos on Facebook, they are disgusting — some are violent, some have foul language — I find it a bit bizarre that they can then think a bit of cod fillet is offensive," he told the BBC.
Goldsmith explained that Instagram helps the store showcase what they have to offer to customers. Often, when he posts something new on the social media platform, his patrons would send him a message, asking him to set aside items for them.
The Vegan Society said in a statement to The Telegraph that they are aware that some people who are on plant-based diets do report images of fish and meat on social media as offensive. However, they argued that vegans are unlikely to follow accounts showing images of dead animals.
The group also encourages fellow vegans to just block accounts of fishmongers and butchers to avoid seeing photos that they might find distressing.
Earlier this year, a photo of pig feet and ears posted by cookbook writer Olia Hercules was censored by Instagram. Another photo of plucked goose posted by a restaurant on the social media platform last year remains censored to this day.
Instagram Admits Mistake
In a statement, Instagram's parent company Facebook explained that the app did not mean to censor Goldsmith's fish posts.
"This content was marked as sensitive in error and has now been reinstated," a spokesperson said. "We apologize for the mistake."
