Facebook's New Craigslist App Has Some Pretty Weird Stuff

Facebook this week began widely rolling out Marketplace, a new Craigslist-like platform for buying and selling physical items in your neighborhood. It’s the site’s latest crack at creating such a feature, having previously attempted a similar service nearly a decade ago.

Facebook is already becoming the de facto platform for lots of users when it comes to tasks like organizing events or keeping in touch with neighbors, so it makes sense for Facebook to give commerce another go. However, Marketplace is already having trouble with offers ranging from the bizarre (live snake!) to the obscene (sexual services.) Above, have a look at some of the weirdest safe-for-work listings we found there.

“As we expanded Marketplace access, we encountered a technical issue that prevented our reviewing system from identifying some posts that violated our Commerce Policies and Community Standards,” reads an emailed statement from Facebook Director of Product Management Mary Ku. “As a result, certain posts with content that violated our policies were made visible to people visiting Marketplace. We are working to fix the problem and will be closely monitoring our systems to ensure we are properly identifying and removing violations before giving more people access to Marketplace. We apologize for this issue.”

A Facebook spokesperson added that the company relies on a combination of user reporting and algorithms to identify and remove offensive items.

Facebook has previously been criticized over its failure to crack down on gun sales over the service, which continue despite violating Facebook’s rules.

 

Contact us at letters@time.com.