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After six years of sharing our posts on Facebook, we started having our content removed in May.

Last week, as I started reporting on Nantucket, Facebook went crazy and began removing anything and everything related to mybuzzardsbay, citing it as Spam and claiming it Violates Community Standards.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Not only do we sell NOTHING on this site, I actually pay hundreds of dollars a year to keep it ad-free.

Sure, I get a little snarky occasionally, but I generally even avoid political comments.

In fact, in 2022, following our fundraiser to help rebuild the Mattapoisett Boatyard, we actually got a letter of commendation from the town.

How Could This Happen?

At this point, no one knows for sure. My working theory is that someone on Facebook is reporting our posts as SPAM repeatedly, and the Meta AI bots have taken it from there.

I have been trying to appeal to Facebook, but it appears that they have fired all the humans in customer service and replaced them with AI bots.

I tried all of these suggestions including contacting a lawyer. When I searched for a lawyer, I found thus.

My friend Eric suggested some changes and I implemented them all:

  • Change my Facebook settings from “Public” to “Friends” only.
  • Acquire the domain mybuzzardsbay.net and forward it to mybuzzardsbay.com.
  • Create an email account that uses the domain (dave@mybuzzardsbay.com)

None of these has made a difference. In fact even the mere mention of mybuzzardsbay.net resulted in immediate censoring.

What can YOU do to help?

From your comments and the over 150,000 visitors we’ve enjoyed over the years, I know folks like this site. I will continue to operate it despite Facebook; the fact is that 40% of my visitors come through clicks on Facebook. Those people are no longer being notified about new posts.

If you like this site and want to help, consider the following:

  • Sign Up For Emails – This is the only way to be sure you don’t miss a post. More importantly, if you have friends who love boating and life on the South Coast, encourage them to sign up for emails.
  • Follow us on X – Look for @mybuzzardsbay on X and follow it. All of my 2024 posts are there, and I will continue to post there.
  • Help Me Make Noise – This whole thing is so absurd. I’m just trying to help fellow boaters and share our stories of adventures on the high seas. Suddenly, AI bots are bullying me, and nothing seems to be able to stop them. I feel like I’m fighting The Terminator!
    • Do you know anyone in SEO who can help me find a technical workaround?
    • I have filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. If you have any pull at the State House it could help.
    • Do you know anyone in the media who can join the fight? This is a great human interest story: “Big Tech bullies local organization.”

This whole episode has been depressing, but your kind words and offers to help have been very comforting.

Thanks for your support, and beware of the onslaught of the AI Bots!

Dave