Social media posts going viral in Pakistan claim that Fiverr, a well-known online freelance marketplace, has flagged Pakistani professionals’ accounts as “unavailable” because of recent internet outages and slowdowns in the nation.
The assertion is accurate.
Declare
On August 13, a social media user posted, “Fiverr has put thousands of Pakistani freelancers in the category of ‘unavailable’ due to the internet slowdown.”
A screenshot of a supposedly Fiverr message that said, “We understand that there may be internet disruption in your area that might make it harder to keep your routine going,” was included in the post. We’re going to go ahead and temporarily set your availability status as unavailable in order to ensure that any unforeseen order delays won’t negatively impact your rating.To date, the post has had over 28,000 views and over 200 shares.
Verify the facts: It’s true. Due to Internet outages, Fiverr did mark Pakistani freelancers as unavailable.
Some users have brushed off the report as “fake news,” claiming that Fiverr never sent out such a letter.
Verify the facts: It’s true. Due to Internet outages, Fiverr did mark Pakistani freelancers as unavailable.
Reality
The assertion is true. Due to internet outages in Pakistan, Fiverr did in fact mark the freelancers’ accounts as “unavailable.”
On August 16, a Fiverr representative sent Fact Check an email confirming that the company’s widely circulated email was real.
The spokesman wrote, “The email in question is authentic and is an official communication from Fiverr.”
