You have to wonder what’s going on with the systems Meta Platforms uses to pay creators. Some this week have seen an alert that their accounts are restricted from making money due to “unusual activity.” That follows a glitch we covered last week that vastly inflated Facebook creators’ estimated earnings from posting Reels with licensed music. And I’ve learned about a previously unreported problem some creators encountered earlier this year, when Facebook erroneously showed them they were on track to each earn billions—yes billions—of dollars from ads on Reels. 

In the past day or so, at least a half dozen creators have posted in a public Facebook group that they received an alert notifying them that their Facebook account is restricted from making money. “There was some unusual activity associated with your account, so your payouts are currently on hold. To receive your payouts, please verify your identity,” reads the alert, according to a screenshot a creator shared with The Information.