Instagram flagged her ads for an event for LGBTQ women. So this Toronto organizer got creative - Toronto Star

Naturopathic doctor found a new way to market the summit focused on health education for LGBTQ women, non-binary people.

Jessica Nazareth hangs a flyer for the Sapphic Wellness Summit outside of Society Clubhouse on College St. on Thursday.

As naturopathic doctor Jessica Nazareth started promoting her upcoming wellness summit on Instagram, she noticed her posts stopped getting their typical reach.

Then Meta flagged six posts promoting the event, which is focused on inclusive, holistic and community-driven health education for LGBTQ women and non-binary people. Next, her ability to create advertisements on Instagram was removed. 

Nazareth has had issues with Meta for years. She specializes in reproductive and sexual wellness, and said she has shifted the way she functions online to ensure her account isn’t removed. These days, she uses code words and deliberate misspellings on Instagram to avoid being flagged.

She said her posts don’t violate the social media giant’s policies. Three of the flagged posts were promoting a sensual movement dance class. Another was a video of people sitting on yoga mats in a studio during a presentation, as well as footage from the dance class, with text on the screen that said “POV: you found an event about sx, pleasure and intimacy JUST FOR SAPPHICS.”

She also faced initial restrictions from the ticketing platform Eventbrite.

“There’s no nudity. There’s nothing that’s super out there,” she said of the posts. Though she has appealed and her account is in good standing, she still can’t create ads, she said. 

So she pivoted. Nazareth said she has relied on putting up flyers, word of mouth and asked people involved in the summit to share posts about the event to their Instagram Stories to create buzz. The event has sold over 75 of 100 available tickets.

Starlotte Satine is trying to promote an upcoming show at the El Mocambo but says her livelihood is at risk.