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Social media marketing company Pink Media claims to have been banned by X. As of July 4, over 250 of the company’s accounts have been permanently suspended, but the reasons for this remain unclear.
Pink Media president Matt Scalelud told ABC affiliate KESQ in Palm Springs that dozens of the company’s accounts on X, including those belonging to members of the #ILoveGay network, were simultaneously removed without warning.
“I got a ton of emails from my followers and I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ At the end of the day, we still don’t know exactly what’s going on,” he said.
In a July 9 post on Pink Media’s website, Scalerud wrote that the mass suspensions were the result of “user reports” by X that the accounts had “violated one of X’s rules.”
“Which rules were violated remains a mystery, but five days later there is still no hope of reinstating the X-Profile,” he wrote.
Brad Furr, CEO of radio station KGAY and Gay Desert Guide, reportedly received a message from Mr. X saying that several accounts he ran – including accounts promoting LGBTQ spaces in the Coachella Valley and touting the region as a potential tourist attraction – had been permanently banned.
“Our digital marketing agency, Oasis Marketing Group,Ah, the PSP.“That account was suspended,” Fuhr told KESQ, “and then, of course, I noticed that the ‘I Love Gay Palm Springs’ account was suspended as well.” [in addition to Gay Desert Guide]… So, in one fell swoop, the three things that we rely on heavily here have been removed.”
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Other accounts reportedly taken down include Alan Beck’s FunMaps and the British Tourist Board’s GayBritain account.
Skarlad said Pink Media has “always been very positive but also very clean” and avoids adult or objectionable content.
“I couldn’t help but think that maybe we were just too well-known,” he told KESQ. “June was Pride month, and maybe someone somewhere was annoyed that they didn’t like LGBTQ content being amplified in that way.”
Skarlerud has appealed the suspension of around 75 of his accounts, but has not received a response from X on whether he will be able to reinstate his accounts.
“From a business perspective, I was hesitant to report this and make a statement in the hopes that the 250+ profiles on X could be restored from what they call a ‘permanent suspension,'” he said in a statement.
“What’s interesting is that all profiles that were not part of the #ILoveGay network were taken down at the same time, including some that were business-focused and some that hadn’t been used for years, which can only be done inside X.
“This shows that someone inside X did their due diligence, combed through the network of LGBTQ+ X profiles with over one million followers around the world, and prepared to destroy them.”
Scarraldo defended PinkMedia’s decision to remain on X after the company, formerly known as Twitter Inc., was bought by CEO Elon Musk and reportedly unleashed a flood of hate against LGBTQ users.
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Several anti-LGBTQ accounts previously banned from the platform have been reinstated, and Musk temporarily lifted a long-standing policy against deadnaming or misgendering other users. Musk previously vowed to ban the word “cis” from the platform, arguing that the term is an insult to people whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Skarreld said PinkMedia stayed on the platform because it “reach[ed]a global LGBTQ+ audience that we couldn’t reach with the same impact on Facebook, Instagram, Threads or TikTok.”
No reason for the outage was given, so the company can only speculate.
Whatever the reason for the suspension, Skallerud wrote, “we were shut down in a way that did not seem random and was certainly not solely due to user complaints about us violating X rule.”
“This was a deliberate cut-off from within X of a network of LGBTQ+ profiles that had been a major part of consolidating and amplifying LGBTQ+ voices in the U.S. and around the world,” he wrote.
“We are, of course, hopeful that X’s #ILoveGay network will recover and continue to help elevate and amplify LGBTQ+ voices,” Skarrelud concluded.
“But in this divisive and politically charged year, we recognize that our reach and exposure may have been too great on platforms owned by individuals who have made it clear they want to suppress LGBTQ+ voices. And in a time when autocrats and big tech moguls are emboldened, maybe it’s time to embrace the fact that we need to get even more creative to keep our voices alive and at the forefront now and in the years to come.”
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