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Complemented by green asparagus, Peter Comhaire posted his photo on Facebook: There was no complaint there
Photo: Ögreissler
»Porn asparagus«, »vegetable pornography« or »asparagus gate«: such terms are currently being used on the internet as a reaction to an alleged photo complaint by Facebook.
After the network had already struggled with the nudity of statues in the past, even harmless asparagus has now been classified as adult content, so the tenor of many articles.
The "Bild am Sonntag" summarized the case at the weekend under the heading "Porn Zoff about asparagus photo".
"The Austrian delivery service for regional products Ögreissler advertised on its Facebook page with a picture of white asparagus," wrote the paper.
“But the photo was identified as inappropriate adult content by the Facebook algorithm and deleted.
Ögreissler takes it with humor and now only shows green asparagus.
Because you know him in America. "
All right, then, Facebook failed again when checking content?
Not really, shows a phone call from SPIEGEL to Peter Comhaire, the man who can be seen in the photo around which the reports revolve.
Comhaire is the founder of Ögreissler.
His company is based near Vienna and sells fresh products from the region, which are delivered by bicycles, e-cars or by post.
The delivery service currently also offers asparagus, which Comhaire wanted to advertise with his photo.
SPIEGEL
: Mr. Comhaire, various media reports that Facebook classified a photo of white asparagus as not suitable for minors and deleted it.
What exactly happened there?
Comhaire
: Facebook didn't delete anything.
I wanted to use the image in question for an advertising campaign on Google as one of many motifs.
For that photo I received an error message from Google that adult-only content should not be used for advertising, my ad was not being shown.
When I removed the motif, everything was fine again.
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This is what the photo Comhaire wanted to use for a Google ad looked like - unsuccessful
Photo: Ögreissler
SPIEGEL
: So people are making fun of Facebook online even though Google has actually failed?
Comhaire
: Yes.
Because I commented on the incident on Facebook, the people who wrote articles probably just assumed it was about Facebook.
Nobody asked me.
SPIEGEL
: The motif that Google complained about consists of two parts: on the left you can see a bunch of asparagus, on the right you can see her sitting with an asparagus spear in her hand - a definitely harmless photo.
For your post on Facebook, did you also add a green asparagus photo to be on the safe side?
Comhaire
: When I saw the Google error message, I thought to myself: »That doesn't exist!« The Facebook post was then a spontaneous idea.
I posted the rejected picture including green asparagus and wrote: »Which pictures with asparagus does Artificial Intelligence have as a reference?
I'll just try green asparagus, because the Americans don't know white asparagus ... maybe I'll get through the censorship with it. "
SPIEGEL
: Have you really tried it again on Google, with green asparagus instead of white asparagus?
Comhaire
: No, no.
It was just a joke.
But I've actually met people who just don't know white asparagus.
For example, a refugee from Syria who worked for me.
At first he spoke of "white carrots".
"I think the problem is that I - a man - have the asparagus in the right part of the picture on my lap, that I have my hands on it."
SPIEGEL
: Let's assume that it was artificial intelligence (AI) that objected to the image: Do you then have any idea why Google's software might consider the image problematic?
Comhaire
: I have another company that deals with AI - so when I received the error message it was immediately clear to me that
nobody
had failed here.
Google probably approaches this in such a way that images are blocked at the slightest suspicion that they could be offensive.
SPIEGEL
: Other photos in which you could be seen with asparagus went through without any problems.
Why was this particular picture not released?
Comhaire
: I think the problem is that I - a man - have the asparagus on the right part of the picture on my lap, that I have my hands on it.
But the bundle of asparagus on the left could also have influenced the test;
And it's just white asparagus that Google may not have as much reference material for.
SPIEGEL
: To say it again: the AI could have mistaken the asparagus in your hands for a penis?
Comhaire
: Exactly.
You can also take obscene pictures with asparagus.
I can think of much cheekier motifs.
And the asparagus has a certain sexual connotation because of its appearance.
SPIEGEL
: Your case is reported using terms like “porn asparagus”. What do you
think
about that?
Comhaire
: Usually we have a hard time getting into the newspaper with Ögreissler - from that point of view the articles are of course enjoyable. I found a lot of the texts and headings funny, just like the user comments, for example in the forum of the »Standard«. I was even sent a cartoon with the joke that Chancellor Kurz and his friends were fooling Facebook's automated content filter with asparagus images. The whole thing alludes to reports that allegedly numerous penis photos were discovered on the office cell phone of a confidante of Chancellor Kurz. When I saw this cartoon, I thought to myself: Guys, that's going wrong now.
