If you’ve ever had your Facebook account locked for no apparent reason, you’ll know the sinking feeling that comes with it.

But imagine waking up to find your entire online community—years in the making—suddenly wiped out, and being accused of 'glorifying terrorism' or 'promoting human trafficking' when all you’ve ever posted is a bit of harmless celebrity gossip!


That’s exactly what happened to Megan Pustetto, the well-known host of the So Dramatic! podcast, and she’s not taking Meta’s (the company behind Facebook) explanations at face value.

Megan runs the So Dramatic! Communi-TEA Facebook group, a lively online space with more than 16,000 members who love a good chinwag about the latest reality TV scandals and pop culture news.


But on Tuesday, her group was abruptly suspended. Meta claimed the group had breached 'terrorism guidelines'—a charge that left Megan gobsmacked.

'At first, I thought I’d been hacked,' Megan said.

'I definitely hadn’t posted anything like that, and suddenly my personal Facebook was also showing weird notifications.'


Screenshots from the blocked page showed Meta branding the group as a 'dangerous organisation' and referencing bans on 'glorification or support of people or organisations we define as dangerous.'

Even more bizarrely, the notification also mentioned 'promoting human trafficking'—a claim Megan flatly denies.

After a day of confusion and panic, Meta issued a statement saying the issue was a 'technical error' that had been 'resolved.'

According to the company, the affected groups were down for about 26 hours before being restored.

But Megan says that’s not the whole story. While her leading group is back online, her public business page, Kind Regards, remains completely deleted.

'It was just a public page for my podcast network. It hadn’t violated any rules,' she said.

'I’m extremely concerned that a group I’ve built for over five years could be deleted so fast and easily, without any breaches.'

Meta has promised to investigate, but as of now, Megan’s business page is still missing in action.

Megan isn’t alone. Other Aussie podcast hosts and Facebook group admins, like Kate Taeuber from Outspoken the Podcast, also found their communities suddenly suspended.

The issue wasn’t limited to Australia—thousands of groups in the US, Indonesia, Canada, Thailand, and Vietnam were hit by the same mysterious bans.

Kate admitted she was 'nervous' at first, but felt a bit better when she realised it was a global issue.

'It was just more frustrating because we’ve spent a long time building up that community,' she said.

Some speculated the bans might be linked to recent controversies around gossip websites like Tattle Life, which was recently embroiled in a high-profile defamation case in the UK.

However, it appears Meta’s error wasn’t connected to Tattle Life, and many now suspect the culprit is Facebook’s increasingly heavy-handed AI moderation tools.

This incident is a stark reminder of how much power social media giants like Meta wield over our online lives.

Years of work and community-building can vanish overnight with a single algorithmic hiccup. And when mistakes happen, getting answers—or even your content back—can be slow and frustrating.

For many older Australians, Facebook groups are more than just a place to gossip—they’re vital social lifelines, especially for those who may be less mobile or live in rural areas.

The thought that a technical glitch could wipe out these communities is, frankly, a bit scary.
Have you ever had a Facebook group or page suspended for no reason? Do you worry about how much control big tech companies have over your online life? Or maybe you’ve got a tip for keeping your online communities safe? We’d love to hear your stories and advice—share your thoughts in the comments below.

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