Just a few facebook clicks, from a few thousand followers, and we will get our page restored.
The Sisters of the Valley have suffered a major setback and are urgently asking the public for help. Last Friday, a hacker took control of the Sisters’ Facebook page, which has a following of 167,000 people that the Sisters have carefully cultivated over the past ten years. Despite repeated attempts, Facebook has provided no assistance in restoring this critical asset.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, refers to the page as a ‘business asset,’ but when it was established ten years ago, it was merely a fan page. The Sisters are bewildered as to how hackers managed to seize this one asset while leaving the rest of their pages and advertising account untouched.
Upon discovering the hack last Friday around noon, Sister Kate promptly filed a report with Facebook. However, daily follow-ups have led to nothing but empty promises that the page would be returned within 24 to 48 hours. Frustrated and desperate, the Sisters even considered hiring social retrieval companies, which quoted prices ranging from $50 to $3,500. This didn’t seem right.
Turning to Reddit for advice, the Sisters were informed that social pressure is the only effective way to compel Facebook to act. According to the expert community, Facebook rarely returns stolen assets without significant public pressure.
Facebook has played a pivotal role in the Sisters’ journey. When Sister Kate started in January 2015, she attempted to sell their products through early collectives and dispensaries. However, the market was primarily focused on high-THC weed, leaving little interest in the Sisters’ non-psychoactive tea, tincture, or salve.
“At that time, I had a small following on Facebook for Sister Occupy. I set up an ETSY store and a Facebook fan page, and that small following of less than five thousand people grew into a Sister following of 167,000 over ten years. Our page didn’t grow organically, as Facebook would want you to believe. There were long periods of no growth, and I would have to nudge Facebook and complain before the numbers would start to grow again. So it was organic growth that we created, but with interference from Facebook algorithms to slow it down,” explained Sister Kate.
Attached is a chart detailing the Sisters’ Facebook growth from its inception.
The importance of Facebook to the Sisters cannot be overstated. It’s hard to tell if the store is fueled by facebook sales or the facebook followers are fueled by the excellent products, but there is a significant relationship. On a consistent basis, a large portion of the Sisters’ sales come from those who also follow them on Facebook. In addition, it’s election season and the Sisters’ vow of activism requires that they promote the voting process. This disruption has had a devastating impact on sales and community interaction, and the uncertainty of what the hackers might target next keeps the Sisters up at night.
The hacking happened while the Sisters were running a promotion for National Hemp month. The hackers had control of the site through-out the promotion and continue to have control.
“It is a soul-darkening experience to be robbed,” said Sister Halla. “But it’s always worse when it feels like the system, the patriarchy believes we deserve it. And they must think that way or they would have returned it by now. That’s very frustrating for a group of women trying to support themselves honorably, ethically, and sustainably while giving back to the community.”
The Sisters are asking anyone with Facebook access to help by reporting the issue. Here’s how:
- Go to the Sisters of the Valley Facebook page.
- Click the three little dots under the main image at the top.
- Select ‘Report a Problem’.
- Choose ‘Something Else’ and click ‘Done’.
Do not click anything after that, and do not block or hide the page. This will submit a report to Facebook.
Sister Kate concludes, “Hackers have control of our account and it’s appalling that Facebook calls it a ‘business asset’ but treats it like a teenager’s social site—unimportant and not urgent, allowing the hackers to keep it.”
Sister Camilla reminds everyone, “Please go to Facebook, find our profile—an image is attached for easy recognition—and report a problem (don’t block or hide our page, just click ‘report a problem,’ choose ‘something else,’ and then ‘done’). Facebook apparently needs hundreds of reports before they take action. Once we get the page back, we invite everyone to post that they were part of the recovery team, so we can properly acknowledge your help.”
Thank you for your support in helping us restore our page and continue our mission.
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