Circulating Warning - Facebook May Close Down Animal Rescue Accounts

Outline
Message circulating rapidly on Facebook warns that Facebook may close down animal rescue accounts. A link in the message opens a blog post that provides more information about the issue.



Analysis
The claims are factual although it should be noted that animal rescue accounts are not being specifically targeted for closure by Facebook. Animal rescue groups should use Facebook PAGES rather than personal profiles. Personal accounts are for people only and should not be used for pets, causes or organizations. False or misclassified accounts can be disabled by Facebook and this includes animal rescue groups set up as Facebook personal accounts rather than Pages. Please read the detailed analysis below for more information and to find out how to fix the problem if you have a misclassified account.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Hoax-Slayer Newsletter:

Last updated: August 7, 2012
First published: August 7, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example


Detailed Analysis
This Facebook driven message warns that Facebook may close down Facebook accounts belonging to animal rescue groups. The claims are true, although it should be stressed that Facebook may close down any misclassified Facebook account, not just those belonging to animal rescue groups. The message includes a link to a post on the Rescued! Is My Favorite Breed blog that offers a comprehensive analysis of the issue.

Meanwhile, here's a quick breakdown:

• Facebook allows people to create personal accounts. Personal accounts are for people only. They are not for pets, causes or organizations.
• Once they have created an account uses can then create Groups or Pages.
• Users can create a Facebook Page for virtually anything that is not illegal or in violation of Facebook terms of service, including animal rescue causes.
• Many animal rescue groups are using personal accounts rather than Pages.
• Facebook can and will disable accounts that do not comply with its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and this may include animal rescue groups set up as personal accounts rather than Pages.

The problem, while not new, has come to the fore recently after an early August Facebook filing revealed that more than 83 million Facebook accounts are fake, misclassified or duplicated. CNN reports:

Misclassified accounts are personal profiles that have been made for companies, groups or pets. Those types of profiles (22.9 million) are allowed on Facebook, but they need to be created as Pages. Facebook estimates that 2.4% of its active accounts are these non-human personal accounts. These accounts can be converted into approved pages without losing information.

Given these figures, it is possible that Facebook may now significantly increase its efforts to remove fake, duplicate or misclassified accounts from its system. The good news is that you can convert a personal account to a Pagefairly easily, as described in detail here. If you do have a misclassified account, for an animal rescue group, your pet or any other subject, it is advisable that you take the time to convert it now or risk losing it later.

References
Facebook may CLOSE DOWN your Animal Rescue account!
Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
How do I convert my personal account to a Facebook Page?
How to convert your Facebook Profile into a Facebook Page

Last updated: August 7, 2012
First published: August 7, 2012
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer