How to check if your post(s) have been affected by Tumblr's recent auto content flagging spree:
In case you haven't noticed, Tumblr's automatic flagging and filtering system has been having a field day this week. Whatever is going on is specifically targeting reblogs and flagging/hiding them, while the original post remains unflagged, meaning the original poster does not receive any sort of notification that their post(s) are affected.
What kind of posts are being affected? I think that this latest flagging spree is heavily targeting posts with images. And by images, I mean any sort of image file. This is only a theory based on my own evidence, other posts may still be affected, too. But in my case, something as simple as a plain black 3 pixel divider triggered it (and I know this to be true because I reblogged a post as-is [FLAGGED], reblogged it with the divider image removed [NO LONGER FLAGGED]).
The only way to see if your post(s) have been affected is to individually go into the notes for any you want to check. In my experience, my affected posts have been entirely random, and some were posted years ago.
Find a post that you know had reblogs with tags
The 'reblogs with comment or tags' section will now be blank if the post has been affected
If you go to 'other reblogs' (blank reblogs) and try to click into them, they will all show up greyed out and hidden on the user's blog
Currently, the only way I can see to fix this is if the users who reblogged your post(s) go to their 'Review flagged posts' tab and submit an appeal. Note that this appeal process appears to be automatic. I tested this several times, and the appeal was approved in less than a minute.
And if your post(s) are affected, the only interim solution I have found is to edit the original post, test out removing images if applicable, and reblog it again to see if the flag has been removed. Unfortunately, it seems this will only help with future reblogs. It will not retroactively fix the reblogs that were flagged.
Why is this a problem for writers (and artists + other creators)?
Something as simple as a plain divider separating the fic summary can trigger this.
Writers are now losing years worth of reblogs that contain meaningful feedback.
Writers have no way of being notified about affected posts, because the flag only triggers in the reblog.
Flagged reblogs are automatically hidden, meaning that affected posts can no longer be reblogged. Defeating the entire purpose of the reblog website where the goal is to reblog and share content across the community.
