Is a woman persona non grata in the city of Atlanta?
A recent Instagram post says: “The city of Atlanta is moving along fast! The word women is banned across all public platforms! Will make birthing persons the word to describe a person with female genitalia.”
This Feb. 15 post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
We asked the city whether the post’s claims are accurate.
“Good lord,” said Michael Smith, press secretary for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens. “No.”
Searching the city’s website for anything to suggest that the word “women” would be banned, we found nothing. We did find plenty of references to women.
On Feb. 2, for example, the mayor issued a press release about a digital marketplace aimed at creating a more equitable business environment that would benefit “minority-owned, women-owned and legacy businesses,” among others.
In September, the city revealed a new cohort for Atlanta’s “Women Entrepreneurship Initiative,” and in December, it announced amid frigid weather that a third warming center had been opened “exclusively for women and children.”
We rate claims the city is banning the word “women” False.
