A request that you delete and block advert showing image of battered woman is 'breaking your talk guidelines'?

[lottiegarbanzo]

Explanation please.

Hi there

We're really sorry but we're not too sure we understand your title - is there an advert that you think doesn't belong on Mumsnet? If so, would you possibly be able to provide a screenshot and URL link to the advert so that our ads team can investigate?

Yes there is.

So I started a thread about on Friday, providing relevant details. I reported my own thread, in order to (as I said in my message) bring it to your attention.

Other posters agreed with me on the thread.

You deleted my thread, offering this non-explanation:

Thread deleted
This thread has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Return to the Talk home page, or most Active Conversations.

So I've spent time carefully reporting something to you which I found abhorrent, disturbing and antithetical to the purpose and values of Mumsnet.

Your response was to delete my thread, without contacting me, or offering an explanation.

Will I now spend time clicking around your site waiting for the offensive advert to reappear, so I can screen-shot it to you?

No.

Was it across the top of the page?

If so it was almost certainly an Ad Choice ad, which is served up to you and only you, based on your personal browsing habits.

No, a sidebar. It was undoubtedly a Google ad or similar, filling an unsold space, not one of Mumsnet's own - as I explained in my deleted thread. I and other posters have seen it on other sites too.

Mumsnet does have the power to block these 'space filler, third party' ads and I was suggesting that they do so in this case.

HQ if you don't know what my original thread was about, how can you have made the decision to delete it?

Now you mention it though, all the ads I see are Google / Ad Choices ads (with the possible exception of an incredibly persistent advert for tea). I predict an end to 'simple format' sidebar and banner advertising, since no-one seems to be buying it any more!

MN don’t shut down a thread which raises an important point.

Whoever made that decision has broken trust.

Yes exactly. I feel like I'm being silenced for having been disturbed by an image of violence against women and speaking up about it. Instead of the image (and its incongruous and unwanted presence on Mumsnet) being the focus of attention.

It was the one of Deborah Meaden with a nasty black eye. Photoshopped no doubt, so not actual violence. But using an image of violence against a powerful woman to sell something.

I didn’t see it but any image of a beaten woman has no place on this site.

Disturbing you are being gaslighted about it: ‘What thread?’

Come on MN. The security breach was bad so don’t continue to undermine trust.

Well, this thread's survived the night at least!

HQ, I'm still awaiting your explanation:

1. For deleting my original thread and your claim that it 'breached talk guidelines'.

2. For failing to acknowledge my report of that thread.

3. For failing to contact me to let me know my thread had 'broken talk guidelines' and was going to be deleted.

4. For failing to acknowledge the issue - that visitors to Mumsnet have been seeing images of a battered, famous woman, (as part of some nasty clickbait AdChoice advert, allowed by you) for a long time.

5. For failing to address that issue, blocking that image and preventing similar images from appearing, and let your users know that you'd addressed it.

You don't seem to be in control of your own website at the moment. This instance is not a little side issue that can be swept under the larger carpet of the recent data breach. It is part of the same problem.

Hi there @lottiegarbanzo,

Thanks so much for getting in touch, and raising an important point to us.

We're really sorry, we appreciate it absolutely shouldn't have happened at all in the first place, but we can't see why your previous thread was deleted. The only reason could be that it was done in error - it's totally not an excuse but we've had a very very busy weekend at MNHQ. We have now reinstated it, and are investigating the advert.