Twitter users have discovered that— in some instances— the #bisexual hashtag has been hidden from sight on the social media platform.
The Bisexual Index Twitter account drew attention to the issue, tweeting: “What does deliberate bisexual erasure look like? Click this hashtag and then see how many pictures come up: #bisexual”
Images that have been marked with the hashtag #bisexual appear to have been hidden from Twitter’s new search algorithm. The site warns that users “may have mistyped" their search term or that their search setting could be protecting them from some "potentially sensitive content.”
Twitter has been accused of bi-erasure and users have called on the site to amend its new algorithm.
The United States' largest LGBT+ rights organisation—The Human Rights Campaign— urged Twitter to fix its search results for the hashtag.
The site has also been criticised for blocking images with the hashtag #bisexual while offensive posts remain uncensored.
Earlier this year, YouTube was accused of blocking videos with LGBT+ content under the 'Restricted Mode' feature. YouTubers used the hashtag #YouTubeIsOver to protest the censorship of queer content on the site.
Twitter is yet to respond to criticisms over the removal of the #bisexual hashtag.
Update: Twitter has now apologised for the removal of certain hashtags, writing: "We’ve identified an error with search results for certain terms. We apologise for this. We’re working quickly to resolve & will update soon."
