META has blocked the official Bridgewater Fire Brigade facebook page, claiming it was impersonating a celebrity.
The brigade’s sudden disappearance from social media last Friday triggered appeals to the social media giant from captain Tim Ferguson. But they were met with a swift rejection and “no explanation”.
“Our original page was unfortunately taken down for ‘impersonating a celebrity or business we are not affiliated with‘.” he said. Mr Ferguson said a new page was quickly created to assist the brigade with community safety engagement.
“In country towns, the fire brigade is something of a celebrity but facebook doesn’t seem to agree with community sentiment.”
Pulling down of the brigade’s page comes as Meta’s plans to remove fact-checking services on content posted to its platforms and the Government’s decision to introduce age limits for access to social media that has brought a renewed focus on the importance of regional, rural and local news publishers.
““Country Press Australia is disappointed at Meta’s decision to abandon third-party fact checking on its Facebook and Instagram platforms in the US. Third-party fact checking has not yet been abandoned on Meta platforms in Australia, however the move in the US may be an indication of Meta’s intentions worldwide and is a worrying development regardless,” said president Andrew Schreyer.