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Facebook has reinstated the One Day Closer to Rain Facebook page hours after it confirmed it would not budge on it's decision to shut down the group.
The social media giant said on Tuesday night that it had reviewed its decision to disable the page and concluded it had breached community standards and would not be reinstated.
But in a shock twist, Facebook reversed the decision on Wednesday morning.
"We appreciate the hard work that 'One Day Closer To Rain' is doing to support drought-stricken farmers and their families at this difficult time. We've looked into yesterday's removal, and upon further review, realised that we made an error and have since restored the Group and are reaching out to the admins of this Group to apologise for our mistake." - a Facebook company spokesperson said.
Page founder, and Merriwa farmer, Cassandra McLaren was left incredibly grateful, and confused, when she was given back the page.
She was told a post advertising a tractor led to the page being disabled on Tuesday morning.
"We have a lot of tractor memes that go up from time to time, I can't recall a post about a tractor sale," she said.
"I'm going to ask for more information because I don't want this to happen again."
It seems Ms McLaren's One Day Closer to Rain (Drought) Stock Feed and Agistment page was Facebook's initial target.
That page, which connects farmers with fodder supplies and livestock agistment, was initially removed and then later reinstated.
The sale of live animals on Facebook is not allowed but the company has now changed that so farming businesses are excluded from the rule.
Ms McLaren said that page has never advertised animals.
Ms McLaren set up another page called One Day Closer to Rain (Drought) - Support on Tuesday night to ensure group members still had an online place to come together.
She also started a petition which collected more than 10,000 online signatures.
The One Day Closer to Rain (Drought) - Support page will now be archived and Ms McLaren will continue with the original group.
She thanked the community for their concern and support during the shut down.
Earlier:
A Facebook page that unites the city and the bush - and gives vital support to those battling the worst drought in living memory, has been suddenly shut down.
Facebook has removed the ever popular - and critically important, One Day Closer to Rain (Drought) page and told its founder Merriwa farmer Cassandra McLaren that the page has breached community standards.
"You group has been disabled. Your group has been disabled because it doesn't follow our community standards," Facebook wrote.
The news has left Ms McLaren, and the 45,000 members, without a platform to unite and support each other through this unrelenting drought.
The page has been supporting farmers, building a bridge between the city and the country and raising awareness about the severity of the drought since May 2018.
Read more: The Big Dry
Read more: One Day Closer to Rain page unites the bush
It is a public page where users are required to become members before they can interact.
Ms McLaren has been left questioning how a page, which has become a vital community service, could have breached Facebook's standards.
She has requested Facebook review its decision. A computer generated response said "your group has been disabled because it doesn't follow our community standards on regulated goods. An admin has requested that we review this decision, and we'll send you an update soon."
The Mercury has contacted Facebook for comment.
"We can't just wait for it to be reviewed, we need an outcry to get this fixed," Ms McLaren said.
"Someone has to review this quickly, but there is no way of picking up the phone and contacting anybody at Facebook to tell them what has happened and explain why this page is so critical.
"On the post when I submitted the review it talked about selling animals and guns and stuff like that. We don't do any of that on that page. You put the word cattle on a post and they seem to think you are selling an animal."
With the festive season fast approaching Ms McLaren is worried the absence of the page will make drought-ravaged farmers and communities feel even more isolated.
"This page is vital for people who want to reach out in a safe environment and share their challenges and talk about what they are going through. Sometimes farmers post to ask for help from other farmers when they have a problem with an animal," she said.
"This is not just a page, it's a community, it's a place to get information, to find the links for drought assistance and information about what to do if they are feeling down."
Ms McLaren started the page after her daughter became upset when they had to sell some of the cattle because of the lack of feed.