Facebook Bans Supporters of Mika's Campaign Against Antigay Slurs

Facebook has reportedly banned users who were supporting Mika's campaign against antigay slurs.

The British pop star sparked a social media revolution this week when he spoke out against the defacing of one of his posters with hate language.

His image been tagged with the Italian equivalent of the word "faggot" at a concert Saturday in Florence, Italy.

After seeing the graffiti, Mika considered ignoring it. But instead, he took to Twitter to raise awareness about anti-LGBT discrimination.

"I saw the photos and my instinct was not to do anything, because hatred, which I know very well, would be better off ignored," he wrote in Italian, as translated by Boy Culture, a blog that reports on LGBT issues.

"I have no fear of those who discriminate against me -- no one should. Love does what it wants," he said, ending with the hashtag #rompiamoilsilenzio, which translates to "Let's break the silence."

At the time of this article's posting, this call to action was retweeted almost 15,000 times. The hashtags #rompiamoilsilenzio and #lamorefaquelchevuole, or "love does what it wants," became top 10 trending topics on Twitter in Italy.

The story was also picked up by Italian news outlets, which led to the poster's removal and an apology from the mayor of Florence.

Mika, who has appropriated the image of the defaced poster as his Twitter background, praised the online and real-world reaction to his speaking out.

"It's a testament to popular desire for change and progress. This is about far more than me, my defaced posters," he said. "This is about everyone. Looking away is a luxury. Some people have nowhere to turn in the face of intolerance. I am amazed and inspired by these events."

However, not all social media platforms are responding positively to the campaign. Carlo William Rossi, who created graphics that show the defaced poster alongside Mika's hashtags, has been banned from Facebook, along with several others who shared his images.

Ironically, the reason for the ban, reports Boy Culture, is the appearance of the antigay word that the graphic is protesting.

See one of the banned images below.