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Steven Bodzin

Not only do agencies wrongly rely on X. It turns out Facebook is even worse.

wapo.st/3XDxHeJ

Facebook is blocking emergency warnings as wildfires roar through West

The Washington Post has collected more than 40 examples of Facebook removing emergency-related posts. It’s occurred during at least 20 small and major fires since June, including the Park Fire, as well as Hurricane Debby in August. While Facebook has misflagged posts as spam during emergencies before, disaster groups and wildfire trackers say that the issue has reached critical mass. In June, they say, something on the social media platform changed, and their content has been disappearing at an alarming rate right when people need it most. In nearly every instance, the platform tells users that they violated the company’s “Community Standards on Spam” due to trying to get likes, follows, shares or views in a “misleading way.” It happens primarily with links, even to official sites from Cal Fire, the U.S. Forest Service, sheriff’s departments and AlertCalifornia, which monitors fires and disasters in real-time.
It’s not just frustrating, it’s life-threatening,” said Angela Oakley, a manager with the American Red Cross, who had multiple posts marked as spam during Hurricane Debby. “I’ve noticed this happening with more and more frequency, especially around disasters. It’s unfortunate, as many people rely on social media and networking connections to stay safe during emergencies.” Afraid of, as the Facebook warning says, “repeatedly breaking the rules” and losing her own page, Oakley says she’s “stopped sharing valuable information” during emergencies. She and about 10 others said they have repeatedly contested Facebook’s determinations but said they never heard back.
Sep 12, 2024, 02:28 AM·Public·Mastodon for Android
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Steven Bodzin

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