Got flagged by an algorithm for posting a link to a charity fundraiser

I shared a GoFundMe for my neighbor's kid's medical bills on Facebook last week and it got blocked within an hour for 'suspicious activity'. No warning, no appeal option just a grayed out post and a generic message. How do we trust these systems when they can't tell a desperate family from a scammer?

3 comments

3 Comments

michael6691mo ago

Man, that's the problem with all these automated systems nowadays. They're like airbags that go off when you hit a pothole (you know, doing more harm than good). I notice it everywhere now - my buddy got his bank card frozen for buying a bag of chips at a gas station two towns over because the algorithm thought it was 'unusual activity'. These systems are built to be paranoid instead of smart, and it's always the regular folks who pay the price while the real scammers somehow slip right through.

spencer_park261mo ago

Ngl I feel personally attacked by these systems too. Last week my own banking app locked me out for trying to buy a $3 coffee at 7am because I guess waking up earlier than usual is a crime now. Meanwhile I swear there's a scammer living in my spam folder who's been "Nigerian prince" vibing for years without a single flag. I'm basically a walking red flag to these algorithms but they'll let a guy drain my account from across the country no problem. At least your buddy got chips out of it, I just got a headache and a phone call.

patricia_gonzalez1mo ago

My neighbor's kid's fundraiser got flagged by Facebook too and it was up again in 3 hours after they just rechecked it. Seems like a lot of drama over a temporary glitch.