CHICAGO (CBS) — Thousands of others are searching for their stolen cars on Facebook, but now the organization’s founder is suddenly silent. He says the social network banned him from posting additional messages after sharing a video of a robbery attempt. Robbery in the city.
Her online fans tell CBS 2’s Sara Machi that this can cause real problems.
Matt Nalett spent countless hours and thousands of miles slowly scouring the streets and alleys of Chicago in search of symptoms of stolen cars.
“I sense my intuitions,” he said. And when I have a hunch, I’m right. “
He says the hobby in 2020 when thieves were beating other Uber drivers. Eventually, he amassed an audience and created the directory of stolen Chicago cars on Facebook with more than 31,000 followers.
But everything stopped abruptly this week.
“He was suspended. Thirty days,” he said. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding now?'”
He says he temporarily avoided posting additional messages because he shared surveillance video of an off-duty Chicago police officer who shot and killed a guy in an obvious robbery. He says Facebook told him it violated “community standards. “But the video comes from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability – for police transparency.
And he says there’s no way to have a genuine user on the phone.
“Man, looking for a Facebook email.
Nalett took CBS 2 to one of her attractions and found that her license plates had been stolen.
After separating, he made a discovery: an Infiniti allegedly stolen more than two years ago. He is one of thousands, he says, that he and his family have recovered.
“This prevents any victim from locating their car for the next 28 days,” said Anthony Tausig, a victim of a vehicle theft.
Tausig says he turned to Nalett in November, and even paid for the paints that helped him with his stolen Hyundai Elantra.
“It’s essentially about silencing one of the only remedies that exist lately,” he said. “If we hadn’t known earlier, we probably would have won more bills. That’s why the problem. Seizure prices have accumulated. “
Nalett says she continues her paintings in the silence of social media for the next 28 days, relaying data to others who can post on her behalf. It’s a task he says supports the Chicago police.
“They’ve been given other things that happen in the city,” Nanett said. “You have robberies, run overs, shootings and everything else under the sun. It’s much more vital than someone or (another car). “
Nalett says she discourages other people on her page from providing any kind of praise for finding stolen cars because she doesn’t need to provide incentives to other people who borrow them.
CBS 2 reached out to Meta, Facebook’s main group, about the issue. Meta responded.