Brakpan SPCA Facebook page suspended over false impersonation claims

In what has been described as a huge loss, the Brakpan SPCA’s Facebook page was removed on Thursday evening due to false claims of impersonation.

The page has been active for over a decade and has over 20 000 followers. The SPCA relies heavily on the platform for animal adoptions, fundraising and to create community awareness. The society requested a review of the decision, which was denied, and the page was then removed.

“The goal is to try and get the page back up, but it’s very disappointing,” said Brakpan SPCA manager Tamaryn Lombard.

“This has been happening to many SPCAs.”

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Lombard told the Brakpan Herald she has taken on the assistance of a communications team from a sister SPCA to see if they can also assist.

“I’m hesitant to start a new page if I can get this sorted. To just not have 22 000 followers anymore is a huge loss,” she said.

This unfair action is likely the result of someone reporting the Brakpan SPCA to Facebook.

“Somebody starts a page and then reports the actual page as an impersonator,” said Lombard.

She questioned how the decision to suspend the account was made when they have so many followers with a page that has been running since July 2010.

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“I have a web page link to our Facebook page, I’ve got an Instagram account link there, a TikTok account link. I even have two cellphone numbers linked to it as well,” Lombard explained.

“I’ve requested to get Meta Verified, and we’ve been put on a waiting list. I don’t know how much more we are supposed to do to prove legitimacy.

“It’s very frustrating. Like other SPCAs, we rely on this page a lot. We don’t spread any hate or information that is bad towards the public or community. Actually it’s the total opposite, so we need to get it sorted out.”

The Herald is awaiting comment from Meta.