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If Facebook users 'shake phone to report a problem,' does that inadvertently put their friends in 'Facebook Jail'?

Friday, October 15, 2021
By Sarah Thompson
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NO

A feature on Facebook's mobile app uses a shake to open a reporting dialogue, but this is only for reporting problems with the functionality of the app, not for reporting problematic content.

Contrary to a post recycling on social media, a person cannot file a technical report accidentally just by shaking their phone. If someone's account has been restricted, it is not because a friend was shaking their phone.

Facebook users sometimes call account restrictions "Facebook Jail." Violations of Facebook's "community standards" may incur a warning or restrictions on a person's account for increasing periods of time.

If a report was made accidentally, it would not result in an account restriction unless the post in question violated community guidelines. Reports from other Facebook users do not automatically result in account restrictions without first being reviewed.

See a full discussion of this at leadstories.com
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Facebook Transparency Center
Facebook Facebook Community Standards
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Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.