This time last week I woke up to horrifying messages from so many people. My Facebook page was sharing essentially pornographic stories, with links to a porn website if you clicked on them. I tried to go to my page to delete it, but I was completely locked out of my page. It wasn't considered something of mine anymore, I had zero access to it- just the same amount of access that any of you have.
I was horrified and upset and so many other things. I didn't know how to fix it. I tried reporting it to Facebook. I mobilized my circles to please report the facebook page. Everyone kept telling me to change my password but that didn't work since the page wasn't connected to my account anymore.
Every time someone would message me about it, I'd get another jolt of panic. But it wasn't just panic. As a survivor of sexual abuse, each message made me feel sexually violated. Each time the story would pop up on my Facebook feed, I'd get flashbacks and be in a really bad place. And I felt so helpless, because nothing seemed to be working and I despaired every getting it back. And feeling helpless is another incredibly huge trigger.
I told my best friend that I didn't want to discuss it when she broached the topic with me, because it was so triggering. However, she told me that a friend of a friend works for Facebook and might be able to help me get the issue sorted out.
I messaged him hoping he might he able to help me.
But in the meantime I felt terrible. I felt terrible for anyone who saw these images or whose kids saw these images. I felt terrible for anyone who had this pornography shoved in their face. And I worried that people would think I did that or blame me for it. I certainly blamed myself.
I worried that with everyone reporting the page, I wouldn't get it back, but it would just be deleted. This was at least preferable to having pornography being posted under my name. But it would mean losing the 6.5k followers I'd built up over the years. (Of course now my follower number is down because of people unfollowing me because of the porn.)
But this morning I signed into Facebook and saw that I was given my account back.
This is so exciting and is such a relief. I was then able to see the tens of messages that people sent me telling me about the hack... now that the situation was fixed.
So if you unfollowed my page, here, come follow it again.
I can only say that one good thing happened out of this. It was so horrific, so sexually violating for me, that I was forced to confront the topic in therapy, and hopefully I'll be able to start the process of healing from my sexual trauma.Thanks everyone for your understanding.
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