For the past couple of years, Facebook has been attempting to crack down on controversial groups on the social media platform, as well as shut down the rampant spread of misinformation that takes place, particularly in election years. These nets cast to filter out unwelcome organizations inevitably sometimes snag unintended targets, including a Fallout 76 roleplaying militia group.
Just last month, Facebook reiterated its resolution to take down groups that violate community standards such as organizations involved in hate speech, organized violence, and criminal activity. In the announcement, Facebook listed a number of militia and anarchist groups that had been removed. These included a number of organizations with names such as Missouri Citizens Militia, Ohio Defense Force, Michigan Militia, and now the Free States Militia.
That last group stands out from the crowd because it is in fact neither a hate nor anarchist organization. It’s actually a private Fallout 76 roleplaying group that has been active on Facebook for two years. The group’s creator, going solely by the name Bobby, first learned that something had gone wrong when he attempted to log on one day and realized that his account had been disabled. His attempt to contact other group admins also failed because, it turned out, their accounts had also been banned.
The Fallout 76 Free States Militia members were finally able to get in touch with one another by sending messages over PSN, and it then became clear that not only had they all been banned but the entire Facebook group had been removed. The unfortunate side effect of such a move by Facebook is that two years’ worth of fan-created lore and pictures were also lost.
Members of the Free States Militia were justifiably upset at the turn of events and quickly turned to Twitter and other social media to plead their case. Other Fallout 76 roleplaying groups were vocal in their support. The frustration, according to one of the group’s admins, comes from the fact that organizations that openly claim to represent real hate groups and actual US-based militias are still active and thriving on Facebook.
On the other hand, it’s understandable how the Facebook algorithm and even its human content reviewers could make such a mistake. The group’s name included the flagged word “militia,” and the members of the Free States Militia interacted with one another and other Fallout 76 roleplaying groups entirely in character. These other organizations also had potentially alarming names such as Enclave Armed Forces and Vulture Raider Gang.
Upon being notified of the mix-up, Facebook restored the Free States Militia group the next day and apologized for the accidental ban. All admin accounts that were disabled have also been reinstated.
Fallout 76 is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: PC Gamer
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