Some of our houseplants

 

Who is Al Zeeman?

 

Me, myself and I on top of Ben Nevis 1970

 

My favorite short stay holiday destinations

Taking into account my feelings of well-being and contentment, compay, food, sites to see:

Bruges (Belgium)

Verona (Italy)

Dal Lake, Srinagar (Kashmir)

Luxor (Egypt)

Lucerne (Switzerland)

Oporto (Portugal) 

Paris (France) 

Santiago de Compostella (Spain) 

Florence (Italy) 

Sighisoura (Romania) 

Cesky Crumlov (Czech Republic)

Budapest (Hungary) 

Venice (Italy) 

Barcelona (Spain)

Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) 

Haarlem (Holland) 

                            Check out my YouTube videos 

 

Prohibition of certain substances for certain people will never succeed

One only has to look at what happened in the US after they tried to ban the sale of alcohol.  Increased crime, deaths and corruption.  The reason for that was of course an increases in profits for those willing to break the law and protect themselves violently.  Also remember that the possession and home production for own use of alcohol was never a  crime!

Failing to learn from that, most countries introduces bans on not only the commercial production and supply of certain substances but also in many cases the possession even in small amounts.  Interesting that the cultivation of hemp even with very very low amounts of psychoactive compounds such as THC was also banned - in the UK it is still an offense to grow even one hemp plant at home - suggesting that the prohibition was not only an illogical attempt to stop people taking certain psychoactive substances but was also based on other motives.

Talking first about hemp: the ban certainly enabled large-scale investors in some industries to make greater profits through the production of synthetic and other alternatives.  Hemp had been used for many hundreds of years for the production of many essentials from paper to clothing, sails to ropes, artists materials to foodstuffs, building materials to fuels, and medicine.  These were replaced by the likes of wood-pulp papers, cotton and nylon, polyurethane and plastics, unhealthy fast foods, fossil and nuclear fuels, and pharmaceutical drugs.  None of the natural hemp products were in themselves dangerous and most were environmentally friendly in their production and destruction.  Also most could be handled locally.  None of those natural products could be used to "get high".

Now let's look at the potential risks from consumption of substances ("recreational use") where possession is banned, compared with other substances where possession by adults is allowed.

Some years ago the American Medical Association produced a chart comparing the potential for addition and toxicity of various substances deemed "legal" or "illegal".  Note here that it is the production, possession, supply that comes under prohibition law, that is the human involvement, not the substances themselves that are listed in the legislation.  Note also that some people are licensed to possess, supply or produce those substances that is banned for most of us - such as scientists conduction research, police, forensic scientists and court officials or other such as teachers in the course of their duty, employment or occupations.

This was how the AMA compared the substances 

Tobacco alongside heroin, highly addictive, highly toxic.

Alcohol alongside cocaine, quite addictive and quite toxic 

Caffeine alongside amphetamines, potentially addictive, can be toxic

Ecstasy - low lever of potential for addiction or lethal overdose

LSD - very low potential for addiction and non-toxic

Cannabis - no potential for physical addition and non-toxic.

NOTE: 

in consideration of addiction, they looked at problems such as withdrawal symptoms;  This has little to do with an individual's desire to repeat a pleasant experience and did not take into account any increases in likelihood of addition due to genetic predisposition or environmental factors such as social connections.

in consideration of toxicity, they looked at the number of "normal does" required to be taken at once likely to cause death.

Now let's  look a the social costs of prohibition, billions of pounds of taxpayers money spent annually; criminalisation of often otherwise law-abiding citizens; alienation of youth, health problems due to uncertain strength and purity; availability to young people (often at the schools and colleges and at home from older siblings, as well as unscrupulous profiteering street dealers); financing of criminal gangs and maybe even terrorists; boosting money-raising crimes such as burglary, theft, muggings, shop-lifting, small-scale dealing, cutting the drugs to boost profits and prostitution.

If those substances were sold through controllable outlets such as cannabis cafes ("Coffeeshops" such as in Holland), Private Member Cannabis Clubs (such as in Spain)  or Pharmacies and Off-Licenses, where quality control and dosage could be measured and sales limited to adults, although it could reduce the price of some drugs it would bring a decrease in fund-raising crime, decrease in problematic use (more noticeable and more likely that the user would consult a  doctor without fear of arrest), decrease in the number of deaths through overdose (the strengths and dosage could be controlled), increase in revenue through taxation, decreases in costs of enforcement, court cases and imprisonment, overall better health and safety at point of sale, dis-empowerment of drug gangs, improvement in social environment and less alienation of users of some drugs compared with users of other drugs.  

After all, few people, in the UK at least, object to anyone drinking moderately at home or down the pub, so long as they do no harm to others, so why should anyone object to anyone smoking a few joints of hash pipes or even taking other substances in the same situations?

My conclusion, for many years now, is that prohibition has little to do with protecting people from harm, and a lot more about controlling people's choices and money!

Please let me know in the comments whether or not you agree.

A short break in Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne

Bruges, Belgium

Mary Magdalen the 13th disciple and Gospel of Mary

 

The Gospel of Mary Magdalen, paperback book

Welcome to My Planet

WELCOME TO MY PLANET

This my planet, we call it Earth.

I’ve lived upon it since the day of my birth.

I’ll stay here, I think, until my end,

When Grace my last breath it does send.

On my planet, which is mostly sea

Earth, water, fire and air is all free,

It’s perfect for life beneath our great Sun,

In trillions of miles it’s the only one.

If I made the rules, all humans would be

Running their own lives and walking free.

But there is one thing that sadly I say,

Our worldly rulers have unholy ways.

I’m just being honest, not dragging you down,

But our elected elected leaders are usually clowns,

Sending troops to wars so pointless to die,

Leaving their families to fear and to cry.

Whist leaders are counting the cash that they store,

And the greedy bleeders still want more.

They wear their robes with such a false pride,

Taking the people for taxable rides.

Yet deep beneath that beyond even their sins,

Lies the peace and the bliss inside  within..

If only they’d let true wisdom show,

How to be grateful and let their Light glow.

For eight billion plus people now living here,

Each one has a soul, a life so dear,

Each one of us is given the chance,

To find peace within and our lives enhance.

Just ask and then let your true self be shown,

Turn doubtful beliefs into something known,

Rise above thought thoughts that do drift,

Be grateful for the Breath that is the gift.

Find your own light, hear the sound,

Feel the connection to which we are bound,

Enjoy your life on this planet Earth,

Each moment called now since the time of your birth!

 

Bergamo 2009

 

Bands I saw

Whilst studying at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, 1968-1971, I was able to see many performances usually for less than £1 a ticket.  I was also fortunate to be able to attend many "pop festivals" such as The Isle of White, Weeley Festival, Lincoln Festival,  where multiple bands performed.  These are just some of the ones I remember:

It started with Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger:  Tyrannasaurus Rex, Fleetwood Mac, Joe Cocker, Cream, Free, Bob Marley, Janice Joplin, The Doors, Frank Zappa, Eric Clapton, Donovan, Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane, The Incredible String Band, Third Ear Band, Principle Edwards Magic Theatre, Soft Machine, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, John Martin, Jimi Hendrix, The Edgar Broughton Band, Country Joe and the Fish, The Nice, Pretty Things, Blodwyn Pig, Richie Havens, The Faces, Mungo Jerry, Mott the Hoople, Pink Fairies, Barclay James Harvest, Caravan, Van der Graaf Generator, Colosseum, The Groundhogs, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Da Band, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, Marsha Hunt, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Ten Years After, Tiny Tim, Curved Air, Procul Harem, Steve Miller Band, Miles Davis, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Buffy Sainte- Marie, Nico, Ginger Baker, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, Sandy Denny, Led Zeppalin, Hawkwind, The Eagles, Paul McCartney, The Band, The Who, Al Stewart, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, The Stranglers, Blondie, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse, UB40, Misty in Roots, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Little Feat, Cher, Bruce Springston, Canned Heat, Quintessence, Captain Beefheart, Chicken Shack, Deep Purple, Dire Straits, Dr Feelgood, Family, Foreigner, The Hollies, Lou Reed, Supetramp, Aswad, Tangerine Dream, Gong, Van Morrison, Wishbone Ash, The Four Stanleys.

Knowing versus Believing

Knowledge removes doubt: believing can lead to doubt.

If one knows, why revert to beliefs?

Beliefs can change, Knowledge brings clarity, understanding and certainty.

Without Knowing, how can there be true trust?

Without Knowing, trust will not grow.

Without trust, Love won't flow. 

Know Thyself. 

Secrets of Egypt's Great Pyramids point to lost 'supercivilization' from 12,000 years ago

  Story by Chris Melore, Assistant Science Editor For Dailymail.Com 

An Egyptologist is making the case that the Great Pyramids were built by an advanced civilization thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

António Ambrósio, an independent researcher from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, detailed the mysterious clues that point to the three main pyramids at Giza being up to 12,000 years old, predating the Egyptians by millennia.

If Ambrósio's theory were to be proven correct, it would rewrite the history of modern humans and expose the existence of a still-unknown 'supercivilization' on Earth that constructed pyramids and other megastructures around the world.

 At the heart of the researcher's case are a set of key inconsistencies Ambrósio and other scholars have claimed as proof that the Egyptians only copied the original three pyramids after discovering the ancient structures at Giza..

The new paper, which has not been peer-reviewed, argued that no royal mummies or burial items have ever been found inside the Giza pyramids, despite the ancient Egyptians claiming these were the tombs of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.

Moreover, the original Giza pyramids, currently believed to have been built 4,600 years ago, displayed stunning engineering skill that aligned with star constellations, featured super-precise stone cuts and had a base that was almost perfectly level on all sides.

Ambrósio explained that these incredible engineering feats were never matched by any of the smaller pyramids confirmed to have been built during the time of the Egyptians between 2500 and 2150 BC.

The researcher added that the nearby statue of the Sphinx has shown signs of water erosion from heavy rain, which hasn't happened in Egypt since around 5000 to 3000 BC, suggesting that the entire site was already ancient and eroding at the dawn of the Egyptian civilization in 3100 BC.

The pyramids of Giza were not built by the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty, but rather appropriated by them,' Ambrósio stated in the paper entitled 'The Pyramids of Giza: Legacy of an Unknown Civilization.'

'Subsequent pyramids (and earlier ones, according to the conventional timeline) would represent imperfect attempts to imitate preexisting structures.'

 Ambrósio claimed that there are no definitive ancient writings from the time directly tying the pharaohs to the construction of the pyramids.

One main link is called the Khufu cartouche, a red-ochre painted hieroglyph containing the name 'Khufu' inside one of the hidden chambers above the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

While many mainstream Egyptologists have concluded the painted hieroglyph is genuine, skeptics, including authors Scott Creighton and Zecharia Sitchin, have claimed this mark was faked by Colonel Howard Vyse in 1837.

'No mummy has ever been found in the pyramids of Giza. The discovery of a supposed sarcophagus of Khufu, found empty, does not prove that he built the pyramid - only that he claimed it,' Ambrósio declared.

While the origins of the main pyramids of Giza are still disputed, multiple studies have concluded that some of the knowledge and skill to build these mega structures was lost during Egypt's Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.

The new paper noted that Egyptian pyramids built after Giza were noticeably smaller, contained multiple construction flaws, were made with weaker building materials and did not align with the stars.

 Meanwhile, Ambrósio pointed out that mega structures similar to the Great Pyramids have been discovered across the globe, which point to the same civilization sharing their advanced building techniques with other early human cultures.

The paper specifically mentions megalithic structures that share characteristics with the Giza pyramids, including the ancient Incan citadel Sacsayhuamán in Peru and the city of Baalbek in Lebanon. 

 The pyramids of Giza may be the legacy of an unknown earlier civilization, an advanced culture that mastered lost technologies,' Ambrósio theorized.

'The Fourth Dynasty would have reutilized these structures, while subsequent dynasties attempted, unsuccessfully, to replicate them.'

The researcher added that the ancient Egyptians had their own mythological concept known as Zep Tepi, or 'the First Time.'

It referred to an initial golden age when the world was created, the gods emerged from chaos, established a cosmic order, and ruled directly on Earth before human kings took over.

However, researchers such as Graham Hancock and Robert Schoch have championed the fringe theory that Zep Tepi was a real historical period where this lost civilization thrived approximately 12,000 years ago, in 10,500 BC.

 Independent researcher Matthew LaCroix told Daily Mail that this advanced culture may have hidden a sophisticated code through geometry, symbolism, and monument design across the globe to preserve its knowledge ahead of catastrophic events.

Sparked by another recent find in Egypt, the discovery of recurring giant T-shapes, three-level indents and step pyramids carved into ancient stones worldwide, the symbols have been linked across continents to a time even older than Zep Tepi, dating back 38,000 to 40,000 years.

 According to LaCroix, this civilization tracked cosmic cycles and embedded teachings about the structure of the universe into monuments and sacred sites, just as the pyramids at Giza perfectly line up underneath Orion's Belt.

 

 

MY LIFE IN A SHELL

 MY LIFE IN A SHELL

I laughed a lot and shed a tear,

Felt some anger, felt some joy,

Turning from dreaded fear,

Looking back to me the boy.

 

Never had an earthly wife,

Yet for some I felt the Love,

Felt the bliss and felt the strife,

Down below and up above.

I climbed some mountains,

Kissed the sky,

Bathed in fountains,

And got high.

Walked some roads,

Went underground,

Sailed on Norfolk’s Broads

And listened to nature’s sweet sounds.

Drank some wine and Holy Water,

Took some drugs

When I thought I oughta,

Had some bumps and caught some bugs.

Gotten old and lost my teeth,

Slowing down upon the streets,

Daily seeking inner peace,

Look inside the thoughts to beat.

Life lies between two sturdy walls,

That breath keeps apart through grace,

Listening as divine light me calls,

As I rest within my space.

 

The smling tree

 Can you see the smile?

Prem Rawat Inspirational Music

 PREM RAWAT YOUTUBE CHANNEL  

I find Prem's poetry and songs both relaxing and inspirational 

 

My Top Norwich Restaurants

Mowgli

Mon Experience, Castle Meadow, Norwich 

Gem 

Namaste Village

Ichiban 

Dhaba At 15

and just outside of Norwich

Huggers (Long Statton) 

Recruiting Sergeant (Horstead / Coltishall)  

Castle Carvery Racecourse (Salhouse Road, Norwich) 

 l

Mowgoi, Norwich

 

Royal Mail Phishing SCAM

The EMail message says "Your package could not be delivered between 05/05/2026 - 08/05/2026 because no customs duties were paid" and an amount to pay such as £2.99 (the dates will be different)and a link to click on - DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK or pay any money, it is a SCAM, once they have your details they can quickly EMPTY YOUR BANK ACCOUNT 

River Garden gathering

 About 25 of us getting together at the River Garden pub in Norwich this afternoon in memory of Lesley and vegetarian and vegan feast and music, hoping for some sunshine.. Gratitude and Grace.

From the front garden

 

The Divine is Within

Just as the musk deer searches the forest for the source of the smell of the musk that is in his own navel, so the human being searches the world for the source of the divine, peace and joy, that is within himself.

That the Divine is within is a fact - if it were possible to prove that, which it is.

Through the teachings and techniques of Self-Knowledge, Prem Rawat shows us how and opens for us the posssibility to experience for ourselves.

Prem Rawat will be speaking at the Brighton Centre, Brighton, at the beginning of July 2026.

In the meantime, anyone interested to learn more can access the many web sites and videos here.

 

Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin

 Egypt discovers 4,300-year-old body wrapped in pure gold inside limestone coffin 

Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a 4,300-year-old mummy wrapped in gold inside a sealed limestone coffin at the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo, in a discovery that highlights the enduring link between gold, power and belief in one of Africa’s most historically influential civilisations.

According to Earth.com, the mummy was found at the bottom of a 15-metre shaft inside a rectangular limestone sarcophagus that had remained sealed with ancient mortar for more than four millennia.

Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, working with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, identified the deceased as Heka-shepes based on inscriptions within the burial chamber.

The tomb dates back to Egypt’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties during the Old Kingdom period.

Gold as a symbol of divinity and status

Earth.com reported that the body was wrapped in sheets of gold leaf that had remained undisturbed since burial. In ancient Egypt, gold symbolised the flesh of the gods and eternal life.

Artisans hammered the metal into thin sheets and pressed it onto the wrappings using resin, a process reserved for a small elite.

The use of gold in burial rites signalled both immense wealth and spiritual aspiration. Most Old Kingdom tombs were looted over time, making intact discoveries of this scale rare.

For modern Egypt, gold remains economically strategic. The country is among Africa’s notable gold producers, with mining exports contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

The ancient association with gold continues to shape Egypt’s global brand as a cradle of wealth, craftsmanship and civilisation.

The mummy belonged to Heka-shepes and dates back to the Old Kingdom’s Fifth and Sixth Dynasties.

Cultural capital and tourism

The discovery comes as Egypt expands its tourism offering with the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, a landmark project near the Giza Pyramids that is now welcoming visitors.

The museum, one of the largest archaeological museums in the world, houses more than 100,000 artefacts and is expected to significantly boost visitor numbers.

Tourism remains a key foreign currency earner for Africa’s second-largest economy, and high-profile discoveries often fuel renewed global interest in Egypt’s heritage.

Saqqara, located near the Step Pyramid of Djoser, has produced a series of major finds in recent years. Each announcement reinforces Egypt’s soft power and its status as a global centre of ancient civilisation.

Officials say conservation teams are now working to stabilise the mummy and associated artefacts. Preserving fragile materials such as wood, textiles and pigment requires controlled conditions and detailed scanning before items are moved or displayed.

For Egypt, the gold-wrapped mummy is more than an archaeological milestone.

It is a reminder that gold has long been intertwined with the country’s wealth, belief systems and global standing, from the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom to modern export markets across Africa and beyond.

Scientists scan ancient Egypt artifacts and find impossible precision

New 3D scans of ancient Egyptian granite vases are revealing levels of symmetry and geometric precision that rival modern manufactured parts. Instead of a single anomaly, multiple artifacts are now showing the same ultra precise characteristics. The growing dataset suggests this level of craftsmanship may have been common rather than exceptional. If confirmed, these artifacts could represent evidence of a technological capability far beyond what is currently attributed to ancient Egypt.

Our orchids

 

LIBERATION - a poem by Alun Buffry, April 29 2026

LIBERATION

 

Death is liberation

From all consternation.

Some think reincarnation.

Some think devastation.

But beyond expectation,

Defying explanation,

Is a transformation

That is liberation.

 

Have no fear, shed no tear,

Ask no seer, it’s where we’re,

Heading for that wall,

We’ll rise, we will not fall.

 

The gift that is creation,

Through joy and trepidation,

We travel to cessation

As here and now our destination.

We give some consideration,

In temporal adoration,

Imagine situations,

Beyond perpetuation.

 

Just focus on the light within,

That frees us from imaginary sin,

Let gratitude for life begin,

And clarity and love will win.

Some of myy poems to music

 

I would really appreciate likes and comments on the YouTube site - the songs are set to autoplay one after another

SAINT MARKS FLIES

First time I've seen these pollinators, Saint Mark's Flies, that don't look nice to me but are apparently harmless (beneficial for the garden) - they appear around Saint Mark's Day, April 26th, in England 

- St Mark being the supposed author of the second Gospel.

 

Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Pyramid Chamber

 Scientists Discover Previously Unknown Pyramid Chamber 

These structures still have plenty of secrets

By Tobias Carroll April 25, 2026 

 

 You might think that a structure that’s more than 4,000 years old would hold no secrets at this point in history. And yet, when it comes to the pyramids built by ancient Egyptians at Giza, it turns out there are still some secrets left to uncover. In a paper  published in the journal NDT & E International, researchers conclude that there is a room within the Menkaure Pyramid that has eluded previous groups of scientists and explorers.

The paper’s authors stress early on that the methods that they used to locate this space had no physical effect on the pyramid; instead, they used technology like ground-penatrating radar, which has been very useful to acheologists as they map ancient and historic structures without disrupting the landscape.

As the researchers scanned the pyramid’s eastern face, they noticed something out of the ordinary. In their paper, they described it as “two anomalies directly behind the polished granite blocks, which would indicate the presence of air-filled voids.”

The paper also helps explain why this pyramid may still contain some secrets, as opposed to neighboring structures. The authors note that archaeologist George Reisner explored the pyramid complex in the early 20th century, but that much of the exploration since then has focused on the Khufu Pyramid (also known as the Great Pyramid). “[N]o work has been done on the Menkaure Pyramid since Reisner’s work,” the authors write.

 

This discovery was made as part of the ScanPyramids project, which has made several discoveries in ancient structures, including one in the Great Pyramid in recent years. In a statement, Christian Grosse of the Technical University of Munich — one of the paper’s authors — pointed to one possible answer to the question of what this new finding could represent.

“The testing methodology we developed allows very precise conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the pyramid’s interior without damaging the valuable structure,” Grosse said. “The hypothesis of another entrance is very plausible, and our results take us a big step closer to confirming it.”  

Archaeologists discover 'miracle' hidden in ancient Egyptian tomb

 Archaeologists discover 'miracle' hidden in ancient Egyptian tomb 

Catherine Shuttleworth, April 27 2026 

Underneath a temple in th ancient ruined city of Taposiris Magna, archeologists discovered a vast tunnel, referred to by experts as a "geometric miracle".

The structure was discovered 13 metres (43 feet) below the ground by Kathleen Martinez of the University of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and colleagues during an ongoing excavation of the temple. The 2-metre tall tunnel had been hewn through an incredible 1,305 metres (4,281 feet) of sandstone.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the tunnel's design is similar to the 1,306-metre Tunnel of Eupalinos - a 6th-century BC aqueduct on the Greek island of Samos, often referred to as a marvel of engineering.

And it seems the Taposiris Magna tunnel is just as impressive.

The tunnel's purpose is currently unknown, with parts of it submerged in water.

Martinez, who has been working in Taposiris Magna since 2004 in search of the lost tomb of Cleopatra VII, believes the tunnel to be a promising lead.

Taposiris Magna was founded around 280 BCE by Ptolemy II, the son of Alexander the Great's renowned general and one of Cleopatra's forebears.

The team believes the temple was dedicated to the god Osiris and his queen, the goddess Isis - the deity with whom Cleopatra courted a strong association. Figurines of Isis, as well as coins bearing the names and likenesses of Cleopatra and Alexander the Great, have been found there.

Future work could give us more information on whether the new tunnel could lead to these long-lost tombs.

The next steps include exploring the nearby Mediterranean Sea. Between 320 and 1303 CE, a series of earthquakes hit the coast, causing part of the temple to collapse and be swallowed by the waves. Previous excavations have revealed a network of tunnels stretching from Lake Mariout to the Mediterranean.

The tunnel has already yielded some treasures: a rectangular block of limestone and pieces of pottery.

In 2009, then-Minister for Antiquities Zahi Hawass said, "If we discover the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, it will be the most important discovery of the 21st century. If we did not discover the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, we made major discoveries here, inside the temple and outside the temple."

 

CANNABIS CAMPAIGNERS GUIDE: INFORMATION AND WORLWIDE CANNABIS NEWS

Click Here for Free Access to Information and News on Cannabis

 

George Harrison - The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)

 

THE UNSPELLING OF WORDS BY ALUN BUFFRY NOW ON AMAZON

 THE UNSPELLING OF WORDS

 

Some beautiful songs from Prem Rawat

 GIFTS ALBUM

 

Lesley's Forgot-me-nots doing well in back garden

 

Updated ABeFree Publishing page and international links

 If you see a problem on the page or link not working - please let me know in the comments section below

ABeFree Publishing

 

'There is a problem': Facebook and Instagram users complain of account bans - BBC news story

 3 July 2025  BBC 

Graham Fraser & Imran Rahman-Jones

Technology reporters

Facebook and Instagram users have been contacting the BBC complaining about having their accounts arbitrarily banned, and struggling to get them reinstated.

Last week Meta - which owns the platforms - acknowledged a "technical error" which it said was causing the wrongful suspension of some Facebook Groups.

Since then, people who use what is the world's biggest social media company have been getting in touch with the BBC to describe the impact it is having on them - and say the problem goes much wider than Meta has indicated.

Some say they have been shut out of pages that are key to their working lives, while others highlight the digital connections to loved ones that have been cut.

There is also frustration that - despite Meta saying it is fixing the problem - there is often no human to speak to about an issue they suspect is caused by moderation decisions powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

They have also described how Instagram accounts have been affected, despite Meta saying it does not have evidence of a problem on its platforms more widely.

More than 25,000 people have signed a petition in the last few weeks which says the problem is being experienced across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Thousands of people are in Reddit forums dedicated to the subject, many users are posting on social media about being banned by Meta, and some say they plan on taking a class action lawsuit against the social media giant.

Here's what people have told the BBC about what it means to them to be locked out of their social media accounts.

'More than just an app'

The online petition about this issue was started by Brittany Watson, a 32-year-old from Ontario, in Canada.

She decided to act after her Facebook account was disabled for nine days in May before it was reinstated. She claims her page was cancelled over "account integrity, external", and Meta has not provided her with any answers as to why.

"Facebook wasn't just an app for me," she told BBC News. "It was where I kept years of memories, connected with family and friends, followed pages that brought me joy, and found support communities for mental health."

'There is no customer service'

Another user who recently lost access to his Facebook account is John Dale, a former journalist who runs a local news group in west London with over 5,000 members.

His account was first suspended on 30 May for breaking communityty standards, and the page he administers has briefly come back twice since then.

He has no idea why.

As he was the only administrator of the group, he currently cannot approve new posts. Additionally, his own posts have been removed from the group.

"It's frozen in time, [while] quite a lot of material has been deleted," he told BBC News.

Mr Dale is appealing his suspension, but if he loses his appeal his account will be permanently deleted. He says he has received limited information on why he was banned.

"There is no customer service," he said.

'My income has taken a huge hit'

Michelle DeMelo, who is also from Canada, says she has suffered financially since her Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended in the middle of June.

They were reinstated on Wednesday, a day after the BBC contacted Meta about her case.

She runs several pages, with some associated with her businesses in digital marketing, and also uses Facebook Marketplace to buy and sell goods.

All her accounts are linked, so when her personal Instagram page was suspended for "violating the terms" of a Meta policy, it triggered all of her pages to be suspended.

"My income's taken a huge hit in the past couple of weeks," she told BBC News from her home in Niagara Falls.

"People think I blocked them or think something happened to me."

Michelle can't think of anything which triggered the suspension, and is worried about the reputational hit as some of her clients were left unable to contact her.

She told the BBC she was relieved that after "weeks of complete confusion and uncertainty" her accounts had now been abruptly restored.

But she said the episode had been very badly handled.

"It's insulting that a company as powerful as Meta, built by its users, offers no real human support or clear pathways for resolution in these situations."

AI suspicions

Another person left frustrated at Meta's moderation policies and its appeal process is Sam Tall, a 21-year-old from Bournemouth.

He told BBC News that he discovered his Instagram page was suspended last week for breaching "community standards".

He decided to appeal, and it was rejected two minutes later - making Sam suspect the process was entirely handled by AI.

"There is absolutely no way that was seen by a human," he told BBC News.

"All the memories, all my friends who I can no longer talk to because I don't have them on any other platform - gone".

As his Facebook account was linked, that was removed too.

"No explanation. I'm a bit baffled, to be honest."

Sam says it is time for some serious action from Meta - and not just for his sake.

"If I know it is quite a few people, then there is a chance of Meta waking up and realising 'oh, this actually is an issue - let's reinstate them all.'"