A Call to Action from The Haus of Legends
To Whom It May Concern at Facebook (if anyone is actually listening):
I recently received the following message regarding one of my posts:
“We did not restore your content.
Hi Iain,
We reviewed your content again.
We confirmed that it does not follow our Community Standards on sexual activity.
We know this is disappointing, but we want to keep Facebook safe and welcoming for everyone.”
Let me be perfectly clear:
No sexual activity was depicted in the content.
The only thing included in that post was a link to subscribe to my website. That’s it. No images, no nudity, no suggestive anything. Just a simple subscription link. So how, exactly, is that classified under “sexual activity”?
To make matters worse, Facebook does not provide any context, image, or clear explanation for what was actually flagged. How am I supposed to learn from this, or avoid future violations, if I’m not even told what triggered the warning?
Let’s break this down:
- None of my artwork contains sexual content. My work is artistic, expressive, and within community standards.
- The flagged post was a link to my website, not an image or graphic content.
- The so-called “review” took under 10 minutes, which tells me it was not reviewed by a human, but by automated systems.
- This is not the first time this has happened. The same issue occurred previously—again, with a link to my site.
So here’s my question: If AI moderation is what flagged the post, and I request a review, but that review is also done by the same AI, then what’s the point of the appeal process? Are we just looping a flawed algorithm in circles, hoping it teaches itself better judgment through repeated false accusations?
Common sense says that if automation makes an error, the appeal should be reviewed by an actual human being—especially when a user’s account is being threatened with restrictions. Your own policy claims reviews can take up to 24 hours, which implies a human is involved. Clearly, that’s not happening here.
Censoring artists without transparency or communication is not OK.
Every day, I see violent videos, racist hate speech, and disturbing animal content that somehow flies under your radar. But an innocent subscription link to my art site? That’s what gets flagged?
At this point, I’m seriously considering leaving Facebook altogether and focusing solely on platforms that respect creative expression—or better yet, investing fully in my own website where I make the rules.
If anyone at Facebook is monitoring this, here’s the truth:
Your automated systems are not 100% accurate. And if you continue to let AI make unchecked decisions without actual human oversight, you’re not protecting users—you’re alienating them. Especially those of us who are artists, creators, and entrepreneurs using this platform to grow and connect.
You have the money. You have the resources.
Hire real people. Review real content. And stop penalizing creators for errors your technology refuses to learn from.
Until then, don’t talk to me about “community standards” when your system can’t even recognize community content.
Sincerely,
Iain Smillie
Artist | Writer | Creative Director
The Haus of Legends.
#CreativityIsNotACrime, #SupportArtists, #HumanOverAlgorithm, #StayLegendary
