The advent of social media has been a godsend for most people. Some use it to stay in touch with their friends and families, some use it for news and entertainment and others use it to promote their business. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok etc. have been evolving ever since they were introduced, offering people more and more conveniences.
With people from different communities joining social media, those who regulate these platforms create strict guidelines to make sure that people don’t misuse these platforms to harm or offend someone. While that is a great step, sometimes people and businesses see their accounts getting banned for no reason whatsoever. Unfortunately, cases like these are becoming more common than ever and the consequences are becoming worse for many people.
The Increasing Number of Bans in the Social Media Space
Social media has become a massive part of people’s lives. Just like the real world, the virtual world also has loads of controversies. Thousands of people are banned from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook almost every single day.
Some of these people are ordinary individuals while others are high profile celebrities or business owners. While many of the bans are justified and happen as a result of inappropriate behavior on behalf of the account holder, others are often the result of illogical reasoning and unpredictable algorithms. Of course, it makes sense to ban people who post rude comments, or vulgar or obscene images, but sometimes, people lose their accounts just because of a change in the social media platform’s algorithm.
Believe it or not, instances like these are more common than you may think and people and businesses with thousands or millions of followers have dealt with the crushing blow of the ban hammer! Getting banned for knowingly violating the online community’s rule is one thing, but nonsensical bans where the account holder is not to blame is an entirely different thing.
These illogical bans can especially cause a great deal of reputational and financial damage to businesses, which is why companies must stay up to date with the terms and policies of the social media platform they are using.
Cases of Unwarranted Bans on Social Media
Isis Thomas
While most people these days associate the name Isis with the notorious terrorist group, it was actually the name of an Egyptian Goddess. This confusion caused Facebook to ban Isis Thomas’ account on Facebook. The twenty seven year old was asked by Facebook to change her name on the social media platform because it was associated with the terrorist group.
To make matters worse, Facebook even asked the woman to confirm her identity by sending pictures. Unfortunately, getting in contact with the site is quite difficult, which is why Facebook ended up deleting her account permanently. Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook sometimes have irrational policies that people can’t fight against. Imagine if you were an influencer or a business owner who faced a similar issue like Isis Thomas. You may have lost thousands of dollars and followers just because of a policy that lacks sense and order, and is incapable of treating users fairly.
The Liberty Memes Facebook Page
Liberty Memes was a Facebook page that had thousands of likes. Facebook took down the page and banned its moderators from the platforms for poking fun at various politicians, despite the fact that many others did the same.
Sometimes, platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok don’t take too kindly to when people share opinions that others may not like. People have even compared this to fascist dictatorships like those in North Korea and formerly in Germany where people were not allowed to voice different opinions. The worst part about this is that account recovery/protection can be quite difficult with unwarranted bans like these. This is mainly because getting in touch with social media sites can be a massive challenge. This is one of the many reasons why Smip created our chatbot, so users can receive help in recovering their account when the platform won’t help.
The Importance of Protecting Your Profile From a Ban
Social media bans also happen because of changes in a platform’s algorithm and some account holders become the unfortunate victims of it. With such cases increasing almost every day, businesses and individuals must take the right measures to protect their profiles or risk losing their accounts for good.
That being said, keeping up with the policies, terms and conditions, algorithm changes of any social media platform can be quite difficult. This is why it is best to leave these things to the pros like Smip.
Once you sign up with Smip, we will provide you with regular updates about the policies of the social media platforms you use so you can be sure you’re never violating any of their policies. We will also be on the lookout for any potential changes that could take place on a platform to make sure you can adjust your profile accordingly.
