In recent months, Bluesky accounts promoting fundraisers related to Gaza have experienced a wave of suspensions. Community reports and a preliminary review of takedowns by MENA Alliance for Digital Rights (MADR) members indicated that these takedowns are likely due to Bluesky’s automated moderation determining that the accounts violate its spam policy.
Bluesky essentially confirmed this on May 30 when it posted about the situation with fundraiser accounts from Gaza. They also confirmed that users can appeal account suspensions.
MADR is a network of organizations who have been working on unfair content removals by mainstream social media platforms in the region for many years. We empathize with the frustrations expressed in an open letter about how these removals have “exacerbated the situation of desperate people just attempting to survive.” We also share concerns that Bluesky does not have account guidelines in Arabic, and may not be communicating clearly with users.
We believe that further engagement with Bluesky is necessary to ensure it addresses the content moderation issues that are sure to continue to pop up as it grows. Some of these issues are predictable—for example, MADR and our members have written about how automated moderation of Arabic is often biased and low-quality.
In the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of some tips to help users in Gaza and their supporters understand and address what is going on. We also encourage anyone experiencing account takedowns to report them to The Palestinian Observatory of Digital Rights Violations, run by the Palestinian digital rights organization and MADR member 7amleh.
How to avoid and address account suspensions?
Your account was likely marked as “spam” or as “as an attempt to “circumvent or evade moderation actions.” Accounts may be marked as spam if they only share fundraiser links, send many direct messages, or tag accounts that don’t follow them.
Accounts may be marked as an attempt to circumvent moderation if you have already had another account removed and made a new one to share the same content, or if you were trying to share fundraisers from suspended accounts. Unfortunately, the community guidelines are in English, but are not available in Arabic yet. For our unofficial translation of the “Spam” and “circumvention” guidelines, click here.)
You can appeal any enforcement decision, including the suspension or termination of an account by emailing moderation@blueskyweb.xyz. When emailing, include your Bluesky username, the date of suspension, and a brief explanation of your account’s purpose (e.g., fundraising for humanitarian aid).
Be clear about why you believe the suspension was a mistake. It’s probably best to explain in English. If you are not fluent in English, you can copy and paste the following explanation:
My account (insert username here) was suspended on (insert date here). I am based in Gaza. I am a real person using my account to fundraise and spread awareness about my situation. I believe you may have suspended my account as spam, but it is not spam. I prefer to communicate in Arabic, but I’m sharing this translated explanation to help your moderation team. Please reinstate my account.
The Arabic version of this article has this text in English and an explanation of what the note says for Arabic-speakers.
Here are a few things you can try to avoid suspension. If your account was suspended and gets reinstated, it is especially important to make sure you change the way you are posting:
- Don’t create your account and immediately start sharing only your fundraiser.
- Do share a little bit of unique content in addition to fundraisers: links to news articles, photos, an introduction to yourself that you leave pinned on your profile—something you feel is appropriate and comfortable and safe for you.
The MENA Alliance for Digital Rights will keep monitoring this situation. We completely understand the frustration being felt by Gazan users. Please share this guide with anyone affected, and follow our work on Bluesky for updates on digital rights advocacy. You can also email us at madr@smex.org.
Featured Image via MATTHIAS BALK / DPA / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP
The article is also available in Arabic.
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