--- description: If you’re Native American, Facebook might think your name is fake. title: Facebook Thinks Some Native American Names Are Inauthentic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0ed486d7628f070/69877f5a2dce015b7a9dd8ed/ap284648016874.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Facebook Thinks Some Native American Names Are Inauthentic by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2015 3:18 PM CUT  Some Native Americans say Facebook won't allow them to log in because their names are "inauthentic." Some Native Americans say Facebook won't allow them to log in because their names are "inauthentic."Jörg Carstensen—AP by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 14, 2015 3:18 PM CUT If you’re Native American, Facebook might think your name is fake. The social network has a history of telling its users that the names they’re attempting to use aren’t real. Drag queens and overseas human rights activists, for example, have [experienced error messages](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/10/01/facebook-drag-queens/16552927/ "undefined") and problems logging in in the past. **MORE:** [Watch the Hypnotic New Ads That Are About to Take Over Facebook](http://time.com/3705008/facebook-video-ads-cinemgraphs/ "undefined") The latest flap involves Native Americans, including Dana Lone Hill, who is Lakota. Lone Hill recently [wrote](http://lastrealindians.com/facebook-dont-believe-in-indian-names-by-dana-lone-hill/ "undefined") in a blog post that Facebook told her her name was not “authentic” when she attempted to log in. Facebook barred Lone Hill from signing in and asked for identification to verify her name. Lone Hill writes that she has sent Facebook three forms of ID so far. Her mother’s name is Lone Hill and her father’s name is Lone Elk. **MORE:** [Facebook Unveils Its Plan to Strike Back at Hackers](http://time.com/3704896/facebook-threatexchange/ "undefined") Facebook faced similar problems last year and announced that it had [changed its policy](https://www.facebook.com/chris.cox/posts/10101301777354543 "undefined"), stating that people can use the “authentic name they use in real life.” But it appears that the social network will again have to amend its real names policy if Native Americans continue experiencing problems. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3710203/facebook-native-american-names/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3710203/facebook-native-american-names/"},"headline":"Facebook Thinks Some Native American Names Are Inauthentic","datePublished":"2015-02-14T15:18:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:26.149Z","description":"The social network is barring some Native Americans from logging in","url":"https://time.com/3710203/facebook-native-american-names/","keywords":["Tech","Social Media","facebook","social networks","Native Americans"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0ed486d7628f070/69877f5a2dce015b7a9dd8ed/ap284648016874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Sanburn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0ed486d7628f070/69877f5a2dce015b7a9dd8ed/ap284648016874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Facebook terms of service","caption":"New Facebook terms of service","creditText":"Jörg Carstensen—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3710203/facebook-native-american-names/","name":"Facebook Thinks Some Native American Names Are Inauthentic"}}]}] ```