Adelaide LGBTQIA+ Party Founder Challenges Meta After Their Insta Accounts Were Permanently Disabled

Adelaide LGBTQIA+ event HEY DADDY has had its Instagram accounts disabled suddenly and permanently, with Meta citing an alleged “Human Exploitation” breach.

Founder Aldo Longobardi says Meta permanently disabled his professional Instagram account, @heydaddy.adl, and even his personal Instagram and Facebook accounts on 16 October, leaving him without his main way of reaching the community ahead of next month’s ADONIS party.

The suspected culprit? A post suggesting different sorts of costumes for a toga party – the post included the word ‘slave’ in it, but is very clear to anyone with two eyes that this post is about a party and costume suggestions (but of course, Meta’s bots do not have two eyes, or the ability to understand context)

A DJ tagged in the post was notified that it had been removed for an alleged Human Exploitation policy breach, according to Longobardi.

However, he did not received any confirmation whatsoever about what caused the deletion of the entire HEY DADDY account, as well as his personal accounts.

Longobardi also says he received absolutely no warning before losing the accounts, and that the internal appeal process gave him no meaningful opportunity to explain the context or have a person assess what happened.

The event founder says around 50 tickets had sold when he appealed, just days into the promotional campaign for the event.

He estimates the disruption could contribute to an $8,000 loss.

“I am not asking for LGBTQIA+ content to be treated differently from other content under the rules,” he said. “I am asking for those rules to be applied fairly, with an opportunity for a person to assess the actual content and understand its context.”

What is the impact of a local queer event losing their social media? Huge

HEY DADDY had approximately 1,200 Instagram followers, using the platform for ticket sales, advertising, enquiries and conversations with members of the LGBTQIA+ community who were considering coming along.

For a small queer business or event, losing social media accounts like their Instagram means losing considerably more than somewhere to upload party photos. It is the way LGBTQIA+ businesses communicate and connect with the local community.

Speaking to Star Observer, Longobardi says the loss of personal connections he has made via social media is a “huge blow”.

“When I started Hey Daddy I thought I was alone in craving something more for my demographic in the Adelaide queer community. The Instagram community quickly showed me I was wrong – 600 followers in 4 weeks, over 1200 in 5 months. And every conversation was the same. I found my tribe in the Hey Daddy online community,” Longobardi explains.

“The response from the community since Friday has reinforced how much Hey Daddy – what we’ve already achieved and what plan to do for the queer community – means to people. We attracted headline DJs from Melbourne who approached us – a no name brand – to play at our party and make it a success. We had people from rural South Australia, the Northern Territory, Sydney and Melbourne fly over especially for our event. We had people with disability feel confident enough to come out to their first party in years and have already bought tickets to the next one.

“Most of these people came together because the personal connections I was able to make with people through social media engagement and direct message conversations. They had a personal connection to feel brave coming out on their own.

“Our social network has been critical in creating that community and giving us the opportunity to bring together people from all over to champion our Big Daddy Energy philosophy. To lose the social media presence is a huge blow to what we want to see translate from online, onto the dance floor, and into the community we build together.”

The Adelaide event focuses on men who like men in their mid-30s and beyond, including those who feel isolated or struggle to find social spaces where they fit.

Its first dance party, DADDY, I LIKE TO F*NK!, drew more than 220 attendees, and received feedback praising its welcoming atmosphere and opportunities to reconnect.

Meta’s list of LGBTQIA+ account deletions is getting outta control

The case follows months of Australian LGBTQIA+ venues losing access to Meta accounts.

In July, Star Observer reported restrictions affecting The Laird, The 86, UBQ, Palms on Oxford and Tribe @ 231, with explanations including alleged “human exploitation” breaches. [EDITOR NOTE: It is VERY INTERESTING how many of these LGBTQIA+ deletions/restrictions are citing ‘Human Exploitation’, ain’t it?] Meta’s shadowbans even affected Melbourne’s biggest LGBTQIA+ festival, Midsumma.

Overseas, Dutch queer organisations launched legal action following mass removals.

Meta has previously denied targeting LGBTQIA+ communities, saying its rules apply equally to organisations and individuals.

What can HEY DADDY do about it?

From what Longobardi has explained – there’s very little you can do. Send an appeal; wait to hear if the automated Meta bots will actually listen to you.

So, he is speaking directly to Meta, and calling for human review, identification of the specific content and policy provisions involved, and restoration of the accounts if a mistake was made.

With ADONIS scheduled for 13 November at Adelaide’s Cosmos Club, he is trying to get those answers while there is still a party to promote.

So if you are reading this and think ‘hell yeah, I want to attend ADONIS’ – you can do so here.