Jeremy Hogan was spending his Saturday afternoon covering a small protest when his wife urgently texted him.
Hogan, an independent journalist based in Bloomington, met up with her at the library and learned that his outlet’s Facebook page — which he relies on financially and to connect with thousands of readers — had been suspended.
Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, flagged his page using artificial intelligence. It suspected his account violated its community guidelines on “inauthentic behavior” and “may misuse our platform to pretend to be a local or domestic voice.” Six days later, Meta informed him that the decision was final, and he could not connect with a human agent because they couldn’t change the outcome of a review.
“It says I’m impersonating a local journalist, but I’m the journalist,” he said in a message to a Meta chatbot.
However, on the evening of July 20, his page was reinstated without an explanation of why it went dark for nine days. Throughout the hassle, Hogan said he was never told why his page was flagged. A screenshot of his banned page displayed no specific flagged violations.
Amid shrinking local news coverage, Hogan’s online outlet, The Bloomingtonian, has grown into a critical news source for the college town of 80,0000. His Facebook page of 67,000 followers is a key way he distributed information, garnering millions of page views a month.
Despite being back online, the blackout is still going to cost Hogan. Facebook wiped his 111 paid subscribers and refunded their payments for the current month. Some of his ability to monetize his content remains unavailable, he said. Last year, he made nearly $11,000 on the platform — a significant revenue driver to support his work, he said.
Meta did not respond to IndyStar’s request for comment regarding why his account was suspended and what led to the page’s reinstatement.
Growing up with working-class parents, Hogan said he’s used to overcoming barriers. Part of why he started the Bloomingtonian was to rebound after he was laid off from the Herald-Times in 2019.
Hogan specializes in breaking news and crime but also covers local politics and captures photos of local events. Facebook was a critical way to connect with residents for routine news coverage, but especially during ever-changing, dangerous events, like a recent spate of tornadoes. He was also disconnected from people who often sent him news tips.
“It’s a blow to local news,” he said. “It’s already hard enough to be a local journalist in the current climate. I feel like I’m being further pushed out of even being able to reach a mainstream audience.”
Meta is a private company and is not required to uphold the First Amendment on its platform. However, as social media continues to serve as a town square for speech, Kelly McBride, a senior leader at the Poynter Institute, said it’s concerning to see robots deciding who has a valid voice.
“In this decision, AI has mistakenly dismissed very valuable original content,” she said. “Who’s harmed by it are all the people of Bloomington who use Facebook as a significant source of information.”
Earlier this month, the Knight Center reported that a small Brazilian newspaper experienced a similar situation when its page was flagged as fraudulent. A judge ruled for their account to be reinstated, but it was still banned weeks later.
The New York Times reported on the difficulties Facebook users and businesses have had when AI wrongly suspends their accounts, forcing them to navigate the AI-driven appeals process.
What’s upsetting, McBride said, is that journalists like Hogan typically don’t have the means to fight a trillion-dollar company in court.
Many community members posted on Facebook and sent Meta messages in support of Hogan and demanding his reinstatement. Hogan reported that some people who posted in support of him also faced restrictions and suspensions from Facebook.
“I do not know exactly what made the difference, but I am grateful to every person who stood up for The Bloomingtonian and for independent local journalism,” Hogan wrote on his website Monday evening. “We are bruised, financially damaged a bit and still without a meaningful explanation, but we are back.”
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Have a story to tell, tip or question? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: A laid-off journalist started his own news site. Facebook AI decided he was fake
Reporting by Cate Charron, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cate Charron, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
