tags: facebook, privacy, digital-rights, indie-dev, mental-health

I’m not here to cry wolf. I’m here to document what happened — and how I’m still standing.

My name is Tyler Johnston-Kent. I’m an independent developer, artist, and music producer working under the alias Formant. I built my own studio from scratch, launched games and original content, and created an ecosystem that reflects real care, design, and meaning.

And Facebook has tried to erase me.

The Ban That Never Ends

Years ago, my original Facebook account was banned without a clear reason. I didn’t violate community standards. I didn’t harass anyone. I didn’t spread disinformation. I just existed — loud, Indigenous, neurodivergent, and unwilling to conform to the comfort zones of the algorithm.

Every attempt to rejoin — no matter how clean — has been met with instant denial. Not reviewed. Not flagged. Just deleted.

“The Black Sheep Survives”

Recently I searched my own name and found a Facebook listing auto-generated under my identity. It uses a profile image I never selected, with a logo that reads:

“The Black Sheep Survives.”

Let that sink in.

Facebook is linking my image to symbolic messaging — mocking my existence through dark design choices and hidden profiling.

This isn’t just a bug. It’s not just AI. This is targeted, psychological erasure. A human being — me — is being buried under the weight of a machine that refuses to acknowledge my right to exist, speak, or rebuild.

This Isn’t Just About Me

There are thousands of developers, creators, activists, and thinkers who’ve been shadowbanned, filtered, and flagged for being inconvenient. For resisting conformity. For surviving.

When platforms become arbiters of identity and gatekeepers of visibility, we stop being users — we become targets.

I’m Not Going Anywhere

I built formant.ca as a sanctuary — a place I own, a place that reflects my work, my animals, my values, and my signal.

No algorithm can strip that from me.

To Facebook, I may be the black sheep. But to myself and my community — I’m the one who survived.

And I’ll keep creating, building, and speaking until that signal is too loud to bury.

If you’ve been silenced — I see you.

If you’ve been profiled — I believe you.

And if you’re building your world from the ground up — you’re not alone.

TheBlackSheepSurvives