The Social Media Double Standard: Why Small Business Owners Get Punished While Celebrities & Big Brands Get a Free Pass

Alright, let’s talk about the massive, infuriating, head-banging-against-the-wall double standard that small business owners face on social media every damn day.

Because let’s be real—if you’re a small business owner, especially in a niche like boudoir photography, you already know that the rules are not the same for us as they are for big corporations, celebrities, and influencers with millions of followers.

We get flagged, banned, and shadowbanned for content that mainstream brands and public figures can post without a single consequence. Our real, hard-earned Google reviews disappear, but the fake bot-generated reviews on major companies? Still standing.

It’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. And it’s not fair.

This is about as safe as I can get at this point

🚨 Why Do Small Businesses Get Targeted More?

Because we don’t have corporate lawyers, PR teams, or multimillion-dollar advertising budgets to fight back. The system is built to protect the platforms, not the small business owners who literally make up the majority of their ad revenue.

Big brands, influencers, and celebrities can post:

✔️ Nearly-naked red carpet looks.

✔️ Lingerie ads that show way more than my boudoir work ever would.

✔️ Overly suggestive TikTok dances with millions of views.

But if I, as a boudoir photographer, post a tasteful, fully-covered image of a woman in lingerie that’s meant to empower her? Social Media Double Standard.

🚨 FLAGGED. REMOVED. ACCOUNT RESTRICTED. BANNED FOR 30 DAYS. 🚨

Meanwhile, Victoria’s Secret can run full-scale ad campaigns in lingerie, and Kim Kardashian can post an actual nude with some pixelation, and they get… featured on the explore page.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

📉 The Google Review Nightmare

Oh, and let’s talk about Google and its war against small business reviews.

I have REAL clients, real people who have booked sessions, spent their money, and had incredible experiences. They go out of their way to leave me glowing, heartfelt reviews.

And what does Google do? Deletes them because they “seem like spam.”

Meanwhile, massive corporations keep fake, generic, AI-generated reviews untouched. The ones that are obviously fake (you know, the “Amazing service! Will return again!” with zero detail) stay up forever.

But our real, hard-earned testimonials? Constantly under attack.

🚫 The Community Standards Hypocrisy

Let’s talk about how community standards are weaponized against small businesses while influencers and celebrities get to do whatever the hell they want.

I’ve had educational, body-positive content flagged for “sexual solicitation.” SEXUAL SOLICITATION. FOR BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY.

Meanwhile, major influencers and fitness models?

✔️ Posting barely-there outfits? Allowed.

✔️ Explicit suggestive poses? Allowed.

✔️ Full-blown OnlyFans promotions? ALLOWED.

But I share artistic, tasteful, and empowering images, and I’m violating “community guidelines.”

The reality? We’re easy to punish. We’re not famous enough to cause backlash or big enough to be a revenue threat to these platforms. We’re the perfect targets for overzealous AI moderation and automated flagging systems that don’t understand context.

💡 What Needs to Change?

We, as small business owners, pour our souls into what we do. We create, we inspire, we serve our communities—and yet, we’re constantly having to fight for the right to exist on the very platforms that thrive off our content.

We deserve:

✔️ Clearer, fairer content guidelines that don’t discriminate against small businesses.

✔️ Consistent enforcement of policies for everyone—not just those of us without a PR team.

✔️ A real appeals process that doesn’t feel like screaming into the void.

✔️ Protection for small business reviews so our hard-earned testimonials aren’t wiped away for no reason.

Because I’m tired of playing by the rules only to watch big brands and celebrities break them daily with no consequences.

I’m tired of fighting to keep my legitimate client reviews when major corporations keep obviously fake ones up.

I’m tired of watching social media cater to those with money while punishing those of us who built our businesses from nothing.

We deserve better. 

🔥 Your Voice Matters—Let’s Talk About It

If you’re a small business owner who’s been banned, flagged, had reviews removed, or been unfairly restricted—drop a comment. Let’s make some damn noise.

And if you’re tired of fighting against these double standards, share this. Because the more we speak up, the harder we are to ignore.

Xoxoxo, Tiffany