An astronomer who was blocked connected Twitter for tweeting a representation of a meteor that was deemed to person breached guidelines connected intimate contented has had her relationship restored.

Mary McIntyre’s account was locked 3 months agone aft she tweeted a video of a meteor passing done the nighttime entity implicit her Oxfordshire home. She initially received a 12-hour prohibition aft being told that the clip contained “intimate” contented that had been shared without a participant’s consent.

“It was not violative oregon pornographic astatine all,” said McIntyre. “It was conscionable a meteor.”

Her relationship was unlocked connected Thursday aft the BBC highlighted her situation and chap users tweeted the platform’s enactment team.

McIntyre said that aft the archetypal prohibition expired, Twitter offered to reinstate her entree if she deleted the tweet and agreed that she had breached the guidelines connected intimate images. She refused, having done thing successful breach of the guidelines, arsenic she was acrophobic astir repercussions for her relation doing outreach enactment with children.

“It is bittersweet that it has taken the communicative blowing up similar this to get my relationship back,” she said.

Her relationship inactive contains the meteor video, which she presumes was wrongly flagged by Twitter’s automated moderation systems. “I don’t spot however a quality moderator could person been offended by it truthful I presume it was artificial intelligence,” she said.

Last twelvemonth the proprietor of a integer photograph assemblage successful Winchester had immoderate of his pictures temporarily blocked by Facebook due to the fact that they were said to incorporate “overtly sexual” content, including a cattle lasting successful a tract and an bureau building. Facebook apologised and reinstated the images, which had been picked up by moderation systems erstwhile the assemblage proprietor attempted to usage them arsenic adverts.

McIntyre said she had not expected to person entree returned successful the aftermath of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter past month, which has been followed by thousands of layoffs astatine the company. About 50% of Twitter’s unit person been axed and the company’s caput of spot and information has resigned, soon aft tweeting that 15% of spot and information workers astatine the concern had been fired.

Twitter has been contacted for comment.