Arizona city left with nothing but a parody page after officials complain to Facebook
An Arizona city wanted Facebook to take action on a parody account, but it didn’t get the result it was hoping for.
Bullhead City, Arizona, found itself in a situation over the weekend. In mid-February, a parody account that mimics the official Facebook page for the city popped up, the Mohave Valley Daily News reported. It used the official city seal and appeared to be the city.
Some posts from the parody account were “obscene” and offensive, the Daily News reported. One post included “combating coronavirus by drinking hand sanitizer,” according to the Arizona Republic.
“The fake page was clearly comedy, but some people thought it was coming from the City because it dealt with speeds on Hwy 95, local business and other City matters,” City Manager Toby Cotter said on the official Bullhead City page. “Numerous people contacted City Hall concerned about information coming from the fake page.”
The account has caused annoyance and problems for the city, officials told the Daily News, so they asked Facebook to do something about the fake account.
Initially, the detective who discovered the account and the police chief complained to Facebook and requested something be done to stop the account, Arizona Republic reported. When nothing happened, the city attorney overnighted a letter to Facebook.
Facebook finally did something: It deleted the official account and left the parody up. It’s the opposite of what city officials wanted.
“Your page has been unpublished,” a statement from Facebook said on the city’s page. “It looks like recent activity on your page doesn’t follow Facebook Page Policies regarding impersonation and pretending to be an individual or business.”
City officials immediately requested for Facebook to undo its mistake, calling it “a huge blunder” in a statement. The official account was down for three days, Cotter said. Finally, Facebook republished it.
“The City appreciates Facebook’s quick actions, but this should also serve as a warning for official government pages across the company’s expansive platform,” Cotter said. “Residents have come to trust the Facebook platform for daily information from City Hall.”
