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Wellington Shire Council is back on Facebook after unexpected page removal by Meta showing vulnerability to social media giants

On March 26, 2024, Wellington Shire Council's Facebook page was unexpectedly unpublished by Meta, emphasising vulnerability to decisions by global social media giants.

By news@gippsland - 4th April 2024 - Back to News

On 26 March 2024, Wellington Shire Council's Facebook page was unexpectedly unpublished by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. This action took us by surprise and highlighted that even as a regional local government council, we are still vulnerable to the unpredictable decisions of global social media giants.

Wellington Shire Council is not alone in these challenges; many organisations encounter similar issues daily, council's Facebook page removal seems tied to a Facebook update, council will still prioritise community engagement across various platforms

Facebook page issue

What's more, we are not alone in facing such challenges, it's an issue that many other organisations and businesses face online, daily. We want to clarify that our Facebook page was not removed intentionally. It appears to have stemmed from a Facebook update, the specifics of which we are still trying to understand. Over the past week, we have been actively engaging with Meta to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, however there has been no outcome to date.

Social media might seem simple - however despite their user-friendly facade, these platforms are governed by rules and algorithms, many of which we will never understand. This makes issues like ours challenging to resolve quickly. Going forward we will be focused on the communication channels and databases we directly manage, ensuring that we continue to serve our community effectively and in meaningful ways.

For more than five years, we have dedicated ourselves to building a transparent and honest online community, attracting a following of over 20,000 across digital channels, who actively engage with our content every day (and night). Understanding the value of this connection, we have prioritised a new Wellington Shire Council Facebook page.

Community engagement channels

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Ian Bye highlighted the value of talking with and hearing from the community. "Keeping our Facebook pages active and engaging is so important for us to work together effectively. Please follow, share, and engage with our content across all online channels. Your participation makes a big difference in keeping our community connected," Cr Bye said.

We also encourage you to stay connected with us through as many places and platforms as possible, including our: