Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Social Media
  3. News

Facebook user named ‘Isis’ has her account suspended

Trevor Mogg
By

facebook
Image used with permission by copyright holder
A woman called “Isis” discovered to her surprise this week that Facebook had suddenly suspended her account. She contacted the social networking site for an explanation, but after hearing nothing back, she offered her own reason on Twitter, telling her followers: “Facebook thinks I’m a terrorist.”

Assuming the move had been made because her name is the same as the commonly used acronym for the Islamic State extremist group, Isis Anchalee, an engineer based in San Francisco, addressed the company directly in another tweet, asking, “@facebook why would you disable my personal account? MY REAL NAME IS ISIS ANCHALEE”.

Recommended Videos

The engineer said that resolving the issue turned out to be trickier than expected. Twice she sent proof of her identity to Facebook and twice she heard nothing back.

Related

“Facebook thinks I’m a terrorist. Apparently sending them a screenshot of my passport is not good enough for them to reopen my account,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

Anchalee sent proof of identity a third time and as the story started to gain attention, Facebook finally addressed the issue and restored the engineer’s account. In a tweet to Anchalee, Facebook’s Omid Farivar said, “@isisAnchalee Isis, sorry about this. I don’t know what happened. I’ve reported it to the right people and we’re working on fixing it.”

Facebook’s sometimes controversial “real name” policy means that if a moderator suspects someone is using the service under a pseudonym, they can suspend the account and ask for verification.

However, in Anchalee’s case, that request was so slow coming that she ended up contacting the company herself. Her account has now been restored.

Earlier in the week, shortly before her trouble with Facebook started, Anchalee had complained about Lyft and Uber drivers constantly asking her about her name. “It’s starting to make me angry,” she tweeted.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Facebook may suspend all political ads before 2020 election
Trump with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stylized image

Facebook is contemplating suspending all political advertising on its social media platform ahead of the U.S. presidential election this fall, according to Bloomberg.

The ban on political ads is currently being "discussed" and has not yet been finalized, according to the report, but sources told Bloomberg that the move is in response to the spread of misinformation and voter suppression on the platform.

Read more
Facebook removes fake accounts and pages linked to Roger Stone
Roger Stone

Facebook removed fake accounts linked to President Donald Trump’s former political advisor, Roger Stone, for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” 

The social network removed accounts and pages posing as Florida residents that were linked to the hate group the Proud Boys, according to Facebook. The fake accounts posted about local Florida politics, the hacked materials released by Wikileaks ahead of the 2016 election, and Stone's books, trial, and websites. 

Read more
PlayStation suspends Facebook advertising until end of month
facebook ftc fine not enough header

PlayStation will not advertise on Facebook or Instagram for the month of July in solidarity with a worldwide movement by companies against hate speech.

"In support of the #StopHateForProfit campaign, we have globally suspended our Facebook and Instagram activity, including advertising and non-paid content, until the end of July. We stand for working (and playing) together for good," Facebook said in a statement first reported by gamesindustry.biz.

Read more