Facebook Apologises For Drag Queen Name Ban

Facebook has apologised to drag queens who were ordered to use their real names or face being kicked off the social network.

Drag queens challenged Facebook in September after several received emails asking them to change their profile to their real names, or face having their accounts closed.

On Wednesday evening, Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox apologised, saying the move was triggered by one Facebook user who reported several hundred accounts as fake.

In a post on the site, he said: "I want to apologise to the affected community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender, and extensive community of our friends, neighbours, and members of the LGBT community for the hardship that we've put you through in dealing with your Facebook accounts over the past few weeks."

Facebook has apologised for the problem

He insisted that Facebook's intention is for all members to use the "authentic" name they use in real life, not necessarily their legal name.

"The spirit of our policy is that everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life.

"For Sister Roma, that's Sister Roma. For Lil Miss Hot Mess, that's Lil Miss Hot Mess.

"Part of what’s been so difficult about this conversation is that we support both of these individuals, and so many others affected by this, completely and utterly in how they use Facebook."

He said that most people who do not use their real names on the site are "bad actors" who often bully and troll other users.

But he added that it was important to provide better assistance to those people - like drag queens - whose accounts are wrongly flagged as problematic.