Instagram Conundrum: Meta AI is Not Ready for Prime Time

Hi. I have a new problem that is entirely out of my control. There is probably a lesson in Stoicism in here somewhere, but so far I haven't grasped it. So I'll tell you what is happening, and at the end maybe you can help me decide what to do.

I'm sure if you've made it this far with Fluxweed Artisan Jewelry, you've noticed that the word "weed" appears as part of a compound word in my business name. Ffluxweed is an actual plant, and it grows in lots of places in Europe and North America- I am so glad you asked. Flux is also the stuff you use when you solder metal together, hence my business name.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Meta's AI, in all its infinite worldly wisdom, decided my account is peddling drugs. Users who searched for my handle got a scary looking message informing them of this "fact" and a choice to "get help" (links to some kind of rehab page) and "proceed anyway" which often didn't actually lead to any search results. Mysteriously it sometimes did, which makes me question the accuracy of the whole thing even more. I found out about this when the organizer from a an upcoming market was trying to find me and contact me via Instagram messenger.

When I found out, I half-heartedly emailed Instagram's supposed "customer service" address, which I am fairly certain is never read by any humans. I expect nothing to come from this message.

In the past week, the warning page has fallen away, but now you get zero results if you search my user name. If you search my actual name "Emily Headen" I am easy to find. If you type in "fluxwee" with no "d", my account pops right up. Strange. I tried it with "milkweed". Same issue. When I messaged them, the nice people at Milkweed Books were also surprised to learn they may be peddling drugs. I also imagine a host of gardening enthusiasts flummoxed by the fact they can no longer find any info on Instagram about managing weeds.

Let me add that at this point, I need Instagram in my business life. Most shows/markets I apply to want to see your Instagram.  Market organizers want to see your work, but they also want to know you will help them advertise their event. It also serves an important function as a portfolio and a way to communicate easily with other artists and potential customers. Some markets won't take you if you don't have X number of followers. Obviously I have never been accepted at any of those markets. ;-) My current number of followers is 212, every single one gained organically. I know why- I hate showing my face and am not going to spend half my life making reels instead of jewelry. My content is not super exciting for people who don't know/like me. But now I wonder if they aren't showing my page to new people because the word "weed" appears?

Two takeaways:

1. You can't trust Meta with your business. I first learned this years ago when my personal Facebook account was hacked and permanently taken down with zero recourse. My personal Instagram account was also disabled. I never got either of them back, despite having done absolutely nothing wrong. (PSA: Set up two-factor authentication, people!). So I already knew we are at their whim, with zero customer support. I read accounts of AI misunderstanding happening to people who did rely on Facebook or Instagram for the bulk of their business and they were devastated by the loss. This is one reason I haven't tried super hard to be good at Instagram. They can take it all away in a blink, or change their algorithm and basically make you invisible.

2. Artificial Intelligence (or at least Meta's AI) is not ready to make real life decisions. It just isn't that smart. It knows "weed" can have something to do with drugs, but doesn't know that humans use that exact word in all kinds of ways and contexts that have absolutely nothing to do with drugs. Right now, Meta's dumb AI is screwing all kinds of businesses and individuals in a variety of ways, and Meta doesn't care at all (do a Reddit search if you are curious).

So this leads me to three potential courses of action:

A. Do nothing, keep posting, and hope the AI sorts it out eventually and I become searchable again. This option means I would have to explain the situation to every market I apply for.

B. Change my business name to make the AI happy. I have honestly considered this. I would use my full name instead. This would cause some inconvenience and possibly screw up the small amount of traction I have made with Google search, but my web domain is due to expire soon and I need to get new cards and such printed soon. So now is not a terrible time.

C. Write off Instagram completely and focus on building my email list and starting to do wholesale. But like I said above, this choice could hurt me in a lot of ways. It really is between A&B, but three choices sounds better.

What would you do? Answer in the comments. Thanks for your input!

-Emily