@randahl I understand your concern whether the account is actually real. But just as we have no laws against begging in public spaces, I don't believe we should have a policy in a virtual space. Some will give; most won't.

@randahl I think it's fine, the same way that if I pass a panhandler in a public area I don't object even if I don't contribute. I've mostly only seen this from folks I'm familiar with or boosts from people I'm familiar with. It might be culturally specific, because in the United States life is really precarious to a degree not seen in other western countries, so it is very typical for people to set up ad hoc fundraising for life events that would simply not occur in other developed countries.

@randahl
Thinking all aid should go through an aid org is not great. It casts undue doubt and judgement on people for asking for money directly.

One of the most empowering things you can do is to see someone needing help and *just go help them*. You don't need official channels for that, you can make your own judgement.

And by the way yeah the word "begging" is pejorative.

@randahl hey Randahl - I try to support a wide range of requests from all over to the extent I can manage it. If some of the folks asking aren’t what they say - well - it’s cost me a few quid and that’s on them not me. The alternative is I harden up and shut myself off from the desperate.

That’s on me.

@randahl@mastodon.social I block, but don't report.
It's impossible to know which, if any, are genuine.

@randahl Hey Randahl,

It’s 2026, not Dickensian England; we call it mutual aid, not begging.

If we’re talking about Gazans, they are currently facing genocide at the hands of Israel with the full support of countries like the USA, Germany, and the UK and the complicity of almost the entirety of the so-called civilised West. International organisations like the UN are deliberately being prevented from functioning by Israel and US.

If you want a list of people we’ve verified via video calls that you can help during this ongoing genocide by settler colonialists, please see:

https://gaza-verified.org/donate/

I would strongly urge you to take the context into consideration. Ask yourself what you would do if you couldn’t feed your family, if you couldn’t afford to treat your sick children, if the institutions that were supposed to be helping were shackled, and if you were actively being hounded off of every other online space by corporations complicit in the genocide being perpetrated against you.

If people are being forced to ask for help, it’s not their failing but the failing of the system that is forcing them to do so.

@randahl your question and a lot of the answers make me shiver. Yes, there might be fakes. But most of them had to swallow their pride to come here and ask for help because they, worse, their children, are in dire need. Nobody forces you to give them anything. Showing up in your time line doesn't cost you a dime. So why do you want a 'policy'? To get them banned, as already some instances do? I only regret I can't help. It hurts bad enough.

@randahl I agree. There are a lot of people asking for money. Few are verifiable. I would prefer to see these eliminated unless totally verifiable.

@randahl in timeline post or DM?

DM = scam - they focus on specific account to land the gullible that will pay

@randahl some instances do have policies, and I think it’s good to have a policy. I think posts asking for help from whoever happens to see the post are fine, and most of the policies I’ve seen encourage that. I think asking specific accounts for money, especially without some kind of longstanding relationship, is too much, but I’m not sure what response a policy should call for

@randahl This is a difficult issue, and it really requires thoughtful measures to address it properly. Charity is important and valuable, but there also needs to be a level of responsibility and common sense in how it’s handled.

@randahl a good resource for understanding mutual aid is the book 'mutual aid' by dean spade which is available in its entirety here:

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dean-spade-mutual-aid

I don't know if you'll have a definitive answer to your question after reading but it might help. I don't have settled thoughts on direct individual requests from internationally distant strangers either.

@randahl the Fediverse’s #MutualAid network is one of the strongest ones I have ever seen, and it is something to be proud about, not concerned about. remember that not everyone is a (probably quite rich) political journalist like you. there are programs like @aral’s Gaza Verified to ensure the people asking for this stuff are reputable. how about you sit this one out, my guy.

@randahl I just block and report them. ✅

@randahl not all the requests will be genuine, but there's enough mutual aid and verified accounts that I think banning then would have adverse real world consequences for people who have to let recourse.

That said, I prefer to put my money into changing the system, in addition to being the individual. And there are organisations who do both.

@randahl

I mute them. There is absolutely no way for me to know if they're legit, and it's obvious many of them aren't.

It's not even like giving money to random people on the street, these could be organized criminals.

@randahl
You're asking your question as if Mastodon was a centralized social network with one policy.

@randahl It’s strange that they’re tagging you directly, though. I think that’s way too much pressure.

@randahl I mute or block accounts who do that because I don’t have extra funds to share, some of them ask far too often (IMO), and I have no way to verify their claims even if I had something to give them.

I don’t have an opinion on what Mastodon servers should do about this issue other than that they should be very clear about whether or not it’s allowed.

Other than that, I mind my own business. It’s hard to know what’s really happening in other folk’s lives.

@randahl

1. Republicans run fake Palestinian accounts begging for humanitarian donations.

2. People with kind hearts fall for it.

3. The 2011 NDAA’s indefinite detention clause (which has been renewed every year) is used to incarcerate and enslave or kill them without trial for “funding terrorists.”

4. Republicans reach orgasm masturbating to their cruelty and get money for it.

@randahl I mute them... which can be time consuming. There's far too many for me to afford supporting these individuals and as you said, it's hard to validate whether they are genuine.

@randahl I get these messages too, I do feel bad that I can’t tell if they’re legitimate or not. However, I have come to the realization that if it is legitimate they will ask the whole family of mastodon for help with a hashtag, or be a part of an organization as you said. I do think that having this kind of resource is a good thing, but we should treat “direct messages” as potential scams. Obviously, if you know this person irl, then you can always verify that you wanna help and how to do it.

@randahl I agree that a policy is needed because I get the same thing and I suspect scams are part of this

@randahl As long as it doesn’t drown out other content, I would not introduce rules.

@randahl

It's called 'mutual aid' and it is something accepted on Mastodon.

It's based on the idea that you may be able to help today, but also that you may need help yourself tomorrow.

@randahl I ignore the requests. I don't have a way to carefully evaluate the requests and I don't havce the time.

@randahl I do not respond to direct requests from unknown people, however dear to my heart their cause or circumstances may be. I may respond to people I know (or have been following for a while) either for themselves, or who personally know a person and share details. Like you, I donate to recognized aid organizations only, otherwise.

@randahl

@devol interesting question (from other istances).

@randahl Good question. I have the same experience and noticed the same picture of starving kids in different profiles. Could be a potential problem for Mastodon if people finds it unsafe to be here. Just my opinion.

@randahl
If someone unknown would tag me (personally) begging for money i'd mute/block instantly bc of above reasons.
If that'd happen repeatedly i'd set up a filter or something.

Don't think it should be a generalised policie of the fediverse. Generalised policies tend to "go to far".
One idea: Question/report to the admin of the beggingacount instance? "Verified? Can you provide a source if?" But only if one feels like it could be real.🤔

@randahl i think not all request are going to be legit, but some certainly are, it's hard to know the difference, and it's hard to tell people they shouldn't ask if they need help, it's to each of us to decide when we are confident enough to give, how comfortable we are with the risk of either giving to someone who is taking advantage, or not giving to someone who needs it.

Filters are rarely perfect, you can generally only trade false positives for false negatives.

@randahl I usually mute or block the accounts. I agree with your points, personally, but if some instances want to promote community help like this they should be allowed to do so. As already pointed out, not hard to mute/block the accounts.

@randahl

Isn't the point of decentralization that there's room for servers that have a wide range of different policies, and for servers that have no policy at all?

@randahl I also have mixed feelings, and usually just scroll past them. I wouldn't call it begging myself, because that sounds pejorative.

@randahl
A. Yes. It is okay, please do it if you need to. 😊
B. The policy in my community is that it is acceptable and encouraged.