How and where to report
Also known as: Reporting a post, Flagging content, DSA complaint rights
Where a report actually goes (platform buttons, your rights under the EU Digital Services Act, bank and police for scams, fact-checkers that take tips) and when reporting just feeds the troll.
Takes a second look
The steps, in short
- Save evidence first: screenshots, links, account names, dates.
- Report on the platform under the most specific rule it breaks: scam, impersonation and harassment beat “false”.
- Scammed? Call your bank before anything else, then file a police report.
- Use your DSA rights: an explanation, an appeal, out-of-court dispute settlement.
- Send disinformation that matters to a fact-checker; ignore trolls who want the attention.
Why it matters
Most people never report anything, and many who do report the wrong thing to the wrong place. “This is false” sent to a platform mostly vanishes; a scam reported to the police but not the bank is money gone; a troll reported, replied to and quote-posted gets exactly the audience it wanted. Reporting well is a small skill with a real payoff. And since the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) began applying in full in February 2024, you have actual rights when a platform acts, or refuses to.
One distinction first. Illegal content (fraud, threats, impersonation, non-consensual images, incitement) is what platforms and authorities must act on. Most disinformation is legal: a false claim about pensions is not a crime. For that, the tools are fact-checkers, corrections and the platforms’ own rules, not the police.
How to do it
- Save the evidence. Screenshot the post with the handle and date visible, copy the link, note the account name. Posts get deleted; your report should not depend on them staying up.
- Report on the platform, under the most specific rule. The three-dot menu on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X leads to a report form. Pick the category that names a clear rule: scam or fraud, pretending to be someone, harassment, spam, non-consensual intimate image. These are reviewed against written policies and often acted on. “False information” is the weakest category, because it depends on fact-checking partnerships that platforms have been scaling back. A deepfake investment ad is both a scam and impersonation; say so.
- Scammed? Bank first, then police. If you entered card details or sent money, call your bank’s fraud line (the number is on the back of your card) immediately, as minutes matter for blocking cards and recalling transfers. Then file a police report; many countries have an online fraud portal. 112 is for emergencies, not for a card you cancelled yesterday. Keep the ad, the “broker’s” number and the transaction IDs (see deepfake scam ads).
- Use your DSA rights. If a platform removes or restricts your content or account, it must send you a statement of reasons: which rule, what evidence, how to appeal. You can appeal internally, free of charge, for at least six months, and a human must be involved. If that fails, a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body can review it; if you win, the platform pays the fees. The same applies when you report something and the platform declines to act. Certified trusted flaggers (NGOs and authorities) get priority queues; for something serious, sending it to one may be faster.
- Send disinformation that matters to a fact-checker. Fact-checkers rely on tips. In the EU, the EDMO network’s national hubs cover every member state; Snopes and Full Fact take tips in English; in Hungary, Lakmusz and AFP Ellenőrzés do. Tip them when a claim is spreading, specific and checkable, not for every annoying meme.
- Decide whether it is worth it. Reporting is silent; it does not boost the post. Replying, quoting and screenshotting to your followers do. A troll with eleven followers who wants a fight is best left alone. Brigading, organising mass reports against a post you merely dislike, is itself abuse.
Example
Sponsored, Finance Daily News [video: a well-known TV presenter, lips slightly out of sync] “I was sceptical too, but this platform backed by the central bank made me 1.2 million in three weeks. Spots close tonight.” Register →
Step one: screenshot the ad, copy the “Why am I seeing this ad?” details and the landing-page URL. Step two: report it as a scam and as impersonation: the presenter never said this, and the central bank backs no trading platform. Two reports under two clear rules, not one under “false”. Step three applies only if you clicked through and entered details: bank, then police. Step five: a fact-checker tracking this campaign will want the landing-page URL and the ad-library link; they map these networks across dozens of clones. Step six: do not comment “SCAM” under it. The comment boosts the ad’s reach, and the “broker” will reply to you.
Common mistakes
- Reporting “false” when a stronger rule applies. Scam, impersonation and harassment have teams and policies behind them. Use them.
- Police before bank. The bank can still stop the transfer; the police cannot. Call the bank first, every time.
- Replying to warn others. Your reply is engagement, and engagement is distribution. Report, then post a separate warning if you must.
- Giving up after a form rejection. Under the DSA you can appeal, and a person has to look at it. A one-line “we found no violation” is the start of the process, not the end.
- Mass-reporting things you disagree with. It clogs the queue for real cases, and coordinated false reports are themselves reportable.
Reply kit
Calm, copy-pasteable replies for when you meet this under a post. Link the technique, not the accusation.
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If this is a scam ad (it looks like one), the useful move is to report it as a scam and tell your bank if you entered any details. Where reports actually go, and your rights: https://manipedia.eu/en/how-to-report
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Reporting is quieter than replying, because it doesn’t boost the post. Here’s what each report button does and when it’s worth it: https://manipedia.eu/en/how-to-report
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For anyone who’s had a post removed with no explanation: in the EU you’re entitled to a reason and an appeal. Short guide: https://manipedia.eu/en/how-to-report
We know not every reply sounds natural as a comment, so feel free to put it in your own words. They are here to help, above all older friends and relatives, who often know these tricks less well and so are frequent targets. Reaching them is one of this site’s most important goals.