Facebook Rejected Photo, Woman With Rare Skin Condition Says
Facebook allegedly rejected a photo of a woman with a rare skin condition because it could potentially bring “high negative feedback.”
When Lisa Goodman-Helfand posted a make-up free photo of her blotchy face to raise awareness of her condition, called scleroderma, she never imagined how the social media site would react. Facebook rejected her photo and it was devastating when they denied her request not once, but twice, allegedly calling her picture “misleading.”
Goodman-Helfand decided people needed to know about her condition and she asked for help. Using a photo of her blogger friend, Chanel White — who is wearing makeup — Lisa tried to post her picture with a clean face to show the effects of scleroderma, but Facebook rejected her photo and allegedly sent her this explanation.
“Your ad wasn’t approved because it includes ‘before and after’ images, or other images showing unexpected or unlikely results. It’s also recommended that you avoid focusing on specific body parts, because these images typically receive high negative feedback.”
Lisa Goodman-Helfand said she tried to reason with Facebook after they rejected her photo, explaining her intentions of bringing awareness to this rare condition and how it affects people in different ways. She asked that they read the article included with her request to no avail.
The 40-year-old mother was devastated and says she locked herself in the bathroom and “sobbed like a teenager” in a blog post. In the post — titled “Facebook Doesn’t Like My Face,” Goodman-Helfand talked about how difficult it was to bare her clean face for all to see.
“It’s difficult to articulate how much courage I had to muster before hitting the ‘publish’ icon and send my naked face out for public viewing for the first time in my life. I have written extensively about how my disease,scleroderma, has eroded my self-esteem, body-image, and sense of self-worth since the age of ten.”
But the fact that Facebook rejected her photo gave Goodman-Helfand the courage to speak out about her devastating condition. She explained that her brave friend, Chanel White, is also fighting against major organ failure due to the disease, which affects people in different ways.
Goodman-Helfand continues to advocate for scleroderma on her blog despite Facebook rejecting her photo. Facebook hasn’t commented on the allegations.
[Image via Facebook]
