It’s a ban Dyke.
Facebook sent UK users in a tizzy after prohibiting posts that mention a picturesque canal in Norfolk on account of its seemingly dirty name.
The body of water in question is the Cockshoot Dyke, a spot that’s reportedly popular with local anglers and sightseers due to its scenic views.
“People found it hilarious, saying it should be called ‘the waterway that shall not be named,” Steve Burgess, administrator on the Love the Norfolk Broads Facebook page, told the Sun. The fishing and gift shop owner said the issue first came to light after a member posted about parking her boat at the profanely-named canal, which reportedly leads to a place called Cockshoot Broad.
Facebook promptly removed the post, citing that it contained “violence and sexual content,” according to Burgess. The social media giant has since banned any mention of the name and classified its algorithms as “hate speech.”
Burgess, for one, believes that the measure is a bit heavy-handed.
“They have put two and two together and got 58. You’ve got to laugh” he said, adding that the ban is ironic as FB contains “so much that is really obscene or violent or sexual but nothing is done.”
Interestingly, the name isn’t even inappropriate in British vernacular. “Cockshoot” is actually a hunting term that refers to the pursuit of a wading bird called the woodcock. Meanwhile, dyke in this context simply means a barrier used to regulate or hold back water from a river, lake, or even the ocean.
Nonetheless, the business owner claims that anglers were banned for even mentioning fishing sites at the Dyke at Cockshoot Broad, and that he himself was prevented from posting Facebook pics for a full day. Other places that have fallen afoul of the algorithm include Plymouth Hoe, in Devon, and Devil’s Dyke, in West Sussex. No word as to whether post about the notorious Austrian town of “F – – king” – now named “Fugging” – received the same treatment
However, despite deeming the digital prohibition a bit “Big Brother-esque,” Burgess said it does make sense to protect the millions of people who use the networking site.
This isn’t the first time a seemingly innocuous post has landed someone in the social media gulag. In July, a Detroit woman said she was temporarily banished from Facebook for “hate speech” after commenting on a meme labeling the opposite sex as “dumb.”
