Fathers4Justice accuse ASA of ‘Reverse Sexism’ over Mumsnet Ban
Campaign group Fathers4Justice today accused the Advertising Standards Authority of ‘reverse sexism’ over a ruling which banned an advert in which the group had accused Mumsnet of gender hatred.
Campaign Director Nadine O’Connor said the ruling was an ‘act of censorship and attack on freedom of expression’ and that they would defy the ban and run the ad again. The group will also launch a legal challenge over the legality of the ruling by the ASA.
F4J have also been running a campaign against Marks and Spencer who support Mumsnet through advertising and have called on the retailer to suspend all advertising until Mumsnet gives a public undertaking to remove all anti-male hatred from their site.
F4J say the ruling is legally flawed for the following reasons:
The advert was factually correct – in fact it underplayed the content found on Mumsnet shown here http://mumsnet-thenakedtruth.com/
Mumsnet failed to remove the content F4J referred to in their advert
Mumsnet breached their own forum rules
Mumsnet failed to respond to any of the correspondence from F4J and failed to say that they did not agree with the content.
As a result F4J thought it proportionate and reasonable to assume that given Mumsnet had not responded that they were providing a platform for extremist anti male hatred.
Said O’Connor. “This is a blatant act of reverse sexism by the ASA if you compare this ruling which had 10 complaints, against an anti-male advert ran by Homepride which received 673 complaints and was not banned by the ASA.”
http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/906955/Sexist-HomePride-ad-dodges-ban/
“F4J will continue to run this ad and will legally challenge the legality of the ruling. Mumsnet might have made submission condemning anti-male hatred, however we have had no such communication from Mumsnet either now or at the time the advert was run. It is entirely correct and legitimate for us to run the ad.”
“The fact remains that Mumsnet offers a platform for extremist views and has failed not only to remove much of the content, but the people who posted it.”
