A theatre in Barcelona encountered difficulties promoting a stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own on Instagram and Facebook after Meta, which owns both platforms, restricted the advertising campaign.
Teatre Raval, a venue in Barcelona, sought clarification from Meta regarding the rejection of its promotional content. The company responded that its automated systems typically classify content referencing civil rights, feminism, or social reform as “social topics” and filter such material accordingly. Meta further suggested that the theatre could resolve the issue by removing specific terminology from its advertising text to avoid appearing to promote activism.
The theatre subsequently released a public statement expressing concern about the restrictions. Theatre representatives noted that as a cultural institution, they depend on social media platforms to inform the public about their programming and questioned why they could not advertise a work by a canonical literary figure. Clara Sanchis, who stars in the one-woman production, expressed uncertainty about whether Meta’s system had flagged the advertisement due to Woolf’s name, the term “feminism,” or a combination of factors.
Sanchis characterized the situation as problematic, arguing that content filtering mechanisms represent a form of erasure that undermines progress made over generations. She emphasized growing concerns about the concentrated power held by social media companies and the potential for algorithmic decision-making to introduce bias into public discourse.
Following the article’s initial publication, Meta provided a statement indicating that the advertisement had been removed in error and subsequently restored. The company confirmed that the ad was operating normally at that time.
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