Exclusive: Facebook unblocks '#saltbae' hashtag after Vietnamese minister's golden steak

FILE PHOTO: Newly elected Politburo member To Lam, in white uniform, poses on the podium along with all other new Vietnam Communist Party's central committee members at the closing ceremony of the 8-day-long national congress of the party in Hanoi, January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool

HANOI (Reuters) - Facebook's parent company said on Tuesday it had unblocked the hashtag for celebrity chef Nusret Gokce's nickname '#saltbae', having found the tag had been blocked globally days after a video was posted online of Gokce feeding a gold-encrusted steak to a senior Vietnamese Communist Party official in London.

"We've unblocked this hashtag on Facebook and we're investigating why this happened," a spokesperson for Facebook operator Meta told Reuters, confirming the tag had been blocked for all Facebook users around the world, not just in Vietnam.