A political candidate from Belgium has been banned from using his full surname on Facebook because the social media giant decided it was offensive.
When 26 year old Luc Anus decided to stand as a council candidate in Lobbes, in Belgium’s Wallonia region he was hoping to share his campaign ideas on Facebook….but discovered that his surname went against the regulations of the social media site.
RT reports: Unable to use his surname on the platform and with the October 10 vote approaching, the Socialist Party candidate chose to register on Facebook as “Luc Anu.”
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Anus had already become the butt of many jokes in Belgium after pictures of his election poster circulated online, bringing his campaign and surname to the attention of those living outside of Lobbes.
“Some people I meet for the first time do not believe me at first, but it stops there,” he said, adding that he “never” thought about changing it, even at school.
Deze Waal kan amper serieus campagne voeren door zijn achternaam: “Het respect is ver te zoeken” https://t.co/n60riyHndj pic.twitter.com/Dob5dhtm0X
— HLN.BE (@HLN_BE) September 21, 2018
Others have been more supportive of the young socialist. “Why should he change his family name? You should always be proud of it,” one supporter wrote.
Belgian politician, LUC ANUS, barred from campaigning on Facebook with real name because of the company’s censorship! https://t.co/g03U04BTVy @radiopirate @jefffillion @Librepenseur @MarcoGroleau23 @Tradethem_all @jhamel#ÇaS‘inventePas 🤓#JeSuisAnus🤓
— Lyndsey LaVulve (@SexyPinkMoule) September 24, 2018
FB forced candidate to change his name. Luc Anus capitulated — Are his problems behind him now? I wonder what Hugh Jass, Anita Lay and Amanda Hugankiss will do? https://t.co/7YzHWQNo7q pic.twitter.com/X2KNcyTmyn
— Mike Opelka (@stuntbrain) September 24, 2018
I think we could come up with some campaign slogans for him, what do you think? https://t.co/MIiI2WsXQT
— Mistress Carrie WAAF (@MistressCarrie) September 24, 2018
According to the latest data from Belgian’s civil registry, there are 49 people with the surname Anus that live in Belgium, all of which are resident in Wallonia.
Niamh Harris