Earlier today, I received a notice from Facebook that it removed an article about Paycom’s Co-CEO resigning because it was flagged as SPAM.
Check this out:
I found the removal of the post which was – a friendly reminder – about Paycom's co-CEP stepping down to be a bit strange and suspicious because:
A) The post wasn’t spam. It was a legit TLO-style news article about the Co-CEO of an S&P 500 company with a bad product co-quitting after three months on the job for personal reasons.
B) We have a clean record. Since we started using the social media platform in 2009, we’ve probably shared 8,000 or so articles on Facebook, and not one of them has ever been flagged or removed!
Seriously, isn’t that kind of weird?
We’ve written a shitload of articles over the year that have rubbed people the wrong way and generated pushback, and not once have forces worked together to get one removed. It’s only when we write an innocuous article about a management shake-up at a company that’s run by a temperamental and image-conscious CEO that it gets flagged as SPAM.
Interesting, huh?
I guess this could be a coincidence and Facebook’s algorithm simply screwed up. It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.
That being said, the timing of the removal – it took place two weeks after we published the article – and Paycom CEO Chad Richison’s reputation of being a controlling hothead does make me wonder if he or the company had something to do with this.
Can you blame me for being so conspiratorial?
I don’t know how many different users flagging a post it takes to get Facebook robots to remove something or say it’s SPAM, but I’m pretty sure Paycom has the money and resources to make that happen!
Plus, as the company's lawsuit against the OCPA – and efforts to push through anti-first amendment legislation proves – the company has a reputation for trying to silence speech they don't like.
If my hypothetical conspiratorial hunch is correct, and Paycom or one of its rogue do-gooder employees is behind the post's removal, I guess we better enact the Streisand Effect and remind everyone that Paycom’s Co-CEO recently resigned after three months on the job for “personal reasons.”
In addition to that, I should probably let people know that an Ogle Mole reached out to me after our article published.
The Mole – a former Paycom Prom attendee – informed me that Thomas’s “personal reasons” had more to do with disagreements he and Richison had over the state of the company than anything else.
According to the Mole, Thomas provided an honest assessment of where things stood at Paycom and what needed to happen to turn things around, and Richison – true to brand – wouldn’t accept it.
That’s a very paraphrased account of what the Mole told me. Who knows? It could be run-of-the-mill SPAM – but it passed my B.S. meter.
Then again, maybe I’m being more paranoid than Richison worrying that someone is recording an internal company meeting and emailing it to us, and my hunch is wrong.
In the meantime, I appealed Facebook’s decision to remove the post and will update below if it gets reinstated.
Also, please do not share this post on social media so that more people know about it. I don’t want the Facebook robots – or Paycom – to come after you, too.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
