Facebook Blames 'Technical Issue' For Shorting Video Creators Thousands of Dollars In Ad Revenue

The Verge spoke with several Facebook video creators, all of whom say the company shorted them on cash and ignored their requests for help. From the report: The creators had no reason to initially question the amount they were paid since Facebook's estimated revenue tool almost always mirrored their actual payouts. Usually, they'd be short only a couple hundred dollars. But after their revenue seemed off two months in a row, the creators say they looked into the issue. All three say the problems began in January, around the time Facebook transitioned to its new Pages experience and made updates to how creators can monetize. [T]hese creators say Facebook only cares about advertisers, leaving them with no one to turn to when their payments are unexpectedly short. They reached out for help, but the company gave them no feedback on what could be wrong.

After The Verge reached out for comment, however, Facebook said it 'resolved a technical issue that prevented a small number of video creators on Facebook from receiving their full in-stream ads payouts.' 'We're notifying these partners that they'll receive those remaining in-stream payments during the April payout cycle, and we apologize for any inconvenience,' a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. It's good news for the creators getting a rebate but still an alarming precedent -- holding thousands of dollars back for months with little explanation or guarantee the same problem won't pop up again in the future.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.