A Minnesota radio executive had his Facebook account permanently disabled after the platform’s AI flagged his news posts — including a missing child alert and a Holocaust survivor story — as child exploitation content. FOX 9’s Leon Purvis has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A Minnesota media executive is fighting to restore his Facebook account after it was unexpectedly disabled, wiping out years of history and content.
Facebook disables account of Minnesota media executive after sharing educational posts
What we know:
Joel Glaser, president and CEO of AMPERS, the Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations, says he received an email from Facebook stating his account was suspended for 180 days pending an appeal for violating the platform’s child sexual exploitation policy.
Glaser said, “The next thing that I know, I get an email from Facebook that says your Facebook account has been suspended for 180 days pending an appeal for child sexual exploitation.”
Glaser insists the posts in question were news and educational content.
“I don’t have anything on my Facebook that could be remotely considered child sexual exploitation,” said Glaser. He believes the trouble began after he shared a post about a 104-year-old Holocaust survivor, and that Facebook’s automated system may have confused the post with a missing child alert he also shared.
Glaser said the appeal process was confusing and did not allow him to explain his side.
“All it is, you have to scan your face in five different places to verify it’s you, and that is the appeal. You don’t get asked questions. You don’t get to ask why was I banned. You don’t get to explain anything,” said Glaser.
Timeline:
Glaser says he received the notification on June 25 and appealed the decision soon after. Two hours later, he got an email saying Facebook would review his information. Just one minute after that, his appeal was denied, and his account was permanently disabled.
Glaser believes Facebook’s artificial intelligence system mistakenly connected two unrelated posts—a missing child alert and a story about a Holocaust survivor.
“Facebook’s AI, took the missing child and blended it with the Holocaust story, and because Meta and Facebook are so concerned about child sexual exploitation,” said Glaser.
Glaser says not only was his personal account affected, but also pages he managed, including a Minnesota history project with thousands of posts.
“I was the lead administrator of MN90 Minnesota History in 90 seconds, and as the lead administrator, somehow that got swept up in the ban as well,” said Glaser.
Glaser says the loss of access has erased years of history and work, and he is now seeking to have both his personal account and the Minnesota history page restored.
What they’re saying:
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has stepped in, saying, “The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is raising the troubling suspension of Mr. Glaser’s accounts with representatives at Facebook in the hopes of getting any errors in Facebook’s automated content moderation corrected.”
Glaser says he contacted Meta and was told the company is looking into it, but so far, his accounts remain disabled.
FOX 9 has also reached out to Meta for comment and is still waiting to hear back.
What we don’t know:
It is not clear if or when Facebook will restore Glaser’s accounts or the Minnesota history page.