Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

How a man named 'Phuc Dat Bich' ended up in a war of words with Facebook

'I've been accused of using a false and misleading name of which I find very offensive'

Jess Staufenberg
Friday 20 November 2015 12:46 GMT
Comments
The man's name is correctly pronounced Phoo Da Bic
The man's name is correctly pronounced Phoo Da Bic (Facebook)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Vietnamese-Australia man has taken the unusual step of posting a picture of his passport on social media after being repeatedly blocked by Facebook.

The unfortunately named Phuc Dat Bich - whose name is actually pronounced Phoo Da Bic - posted the image after the tech giant banned him several times.

The picture, and its accompanying message, has been shared more than 123,000 times.

"I find it highly irritating the fact that nobody seems to believe me when I say that my full legal name is how you see it," he said.

"I've been accused of using a false and misleading name of which I find very offensive."

He went on to explain that his frustration was due to what he suggested was a lack of understanding in the West for names which appear amusing to some.

"Is it because I'm Asian? Is it?" he asked in the post.

"Having my [Facebook] shut down multiple times and forced to change my name to my 'real' name, so just to put it out there. My name.

"Yours sincerely, Phuc Dat Bich".

Since his story was shared widely online, he said he was "honoured" at the support he received.

I'd like to mention that I am very grateful to those who have been supportive of certain names that populate in...

Posted by Phuc Dat Bich on Sunday, 22 November 2015

It is not the first time Facebook has blocked users from their profile accounts as a result of their name.

Recently, a woman whose first name is Isis said Facebook would not let her sign in - tweeting that the social media site thought she was "a terrorist".

A man who changed his name to Something Long and Complicated - from William Wood - was blocked in October this year by the site.

Members of the Native American community have also reported having their accounts suspended, as well as members of the drag queen community.

Facebook's chief product officer, Chris Cox, issued an apology on the site after the latest incident.

The social media giant has an authentic name policy in place to make its users accountable for what they say.

Weather man says Welsh name

The Independent has approached Phuc Dat Bich for comment.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in