Hello from Issue 307! I have a quick question for you: Did you check your Facebook page today? Mine was fine last week, but I found myself logged out for some reason. After retrieving my login details and attempting to sign in, I was met with a message saying, “Your Instagram account was suspended…” (see screenshot below).

“Ah, okay,” I thought, “Just a security hiccup. I’ll file an appeal.” Little did I know, entering the world of Facebook support is like descending into a farce. Turns out, Facebook doesn’t really offer an appeal process, and reaching a human is nearly impossible unless you’re a big spender on advertising with a business account. After five or six hours of searching, I discovered this issue isn’t uncommon (there’s even a dedicated Reddit group), and according to most, it’s virtually unsolvable.

I managed to set up a new account and linked On Landscape to it, just in time for Charlotte to face the same problem the next day.
Between myself and Charlotte, we’ve lost pages crucial for managing the Ballachulish Community, Charlotte’s Appin Skiff group, the MidgeSpecs Facebook page, and several more. Thankfully, On Landscape was spared.

We almost lost the Natural Landscape Awards Facebook page, but its heavy advertising spend saved it eventually (though not before someone spent $100 on it after Facebook initially claimed it was secure from hackers).

The moral of this story has a few facets:

1. Ensure multiple administrators manage any crucial Facebook pages.
2. Activate two-factor authentication for all associated accounts.
3. Be cautious about relying solely on Facebook for your business. Whenever possible, collect customer email addresses and market through other means.
4. Remember: Facebook doesn’t care about you.

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