Wrongfully suspended for 30 days

General Discussion
1

Good day, I hope someone will be able to assist me.

About one month ago, I submitted a PokéStop nomination through Wayfarer.
The nomination was rejected, and I did not understand the reason for the rejection. I submitted an appeal, but the appeal was also denied.

I accepted that outcome, as it cannot be changed.

However, on November 19, 2025, I received a notification stating that my Wayfarer and Pokémon GO accounts had been suspended for 30 days. The reason given was that I had allegedly submitted an AI-generated image.

This is not true.

The photos I submitted show two newly installed cowboy figures that resemble small toy figurines from the GDR era (around 1980). I used to own similar figures as a child.

I submitted several appeals regarding my suspension and included additional photos of the statues to prove their authenticity and show that they are life-sized figures.
I also provided a link to an online article (in German) that reports on these cowboy statues:

(Article)

This article clearly confirms that the figures are real.

Unfortunately, the statues do not yet appear on Google Maps or Google Earth because they are very new.

My phone camera (iPhone 16 Pro) is set to high-quality mode to ensure good photos. I have successfully submitted many Wayspots using this same camera, so I do not believe the issue is caused by my device.

Today, on November 29, 2025, I received the following response to my most recent appeal:

⸻

**“Hello Trainer,

As your account violated the Wayfarer criteria by submitting an AI-generated image, it has been suspended for 30 days. We cannot provide any further information regarding this matter.

We recommend reviewing the Wayspot criteria before submitting any additional nominations or edits to avoid future suspensions of your Wayfarer and Pokémon GO accounts.

Best regards.”**

⸻

I am at a loss at this point.
If anyone is able to look into my issue or offer assistance, I would be very grateful.

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2

Greeting and really sorry to hear about your suspension.

Are the following photo below is in your submission?

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3

Hello and welcome @0815RotzGoere

First what usually happens is that a member of the Wayfarer Team will initiate a DM with you. The best approach is to be honest and open in those exchanges.

It is the weekend so please be patient.

In the meantime you can discuss your case with the community here. We may asks questions to help understand your case.

Can you clarify if the sanction emails you received specifically referenced this submission?

3 Likes
4

Yes, my sanction is exactly because of these cowboy figures.

I thought maybe it was because they are holding pistols, or because it looks like one is shooting the other in the head.

But no. I am being accused that the images are AI-generated.

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5

Yes, I think one of those photos was included, but unfortunately I can’t view it anymore. I took several pictures and then chose one of them.

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6

Hi @0815RotzGoere
Willkommen im Forum :hugs:
Falls du es bevorzugst, kannst du hier auch auf deutsch schreiben. Es erscheint dann ein globus icon unter den posts zum übersetzen.
Hast du zufällig noch die Bestätigungs-email? Da müsste eigentlich die Nominierung auch komplett zu sehen sein.
Falls ja und du magst, kannst du davon gerne screenshots hochladen.

2 Likes
7

Hello Explorer,

Following a report and an internal investigation performed by our team, we have confirmed that the content you contributed on 10/14/25, 10:49:59 AM UTC is violating one or more policies. We have taken action against it.

Here is more information:

Content: Cowboy Statuen
Policy Violated: Malicious image submission

We recommend you review our Player Guidelines and the Wayfarer Criteriabefore resuming your contributions to the Niantic Map.

If you think this decision was made in error and would like to submit an appeal, please contact us.

The Wayfarer Team

Das war die erste Mail…

Da ich kein Verstoß gesehen habe, habe ich bei der Ablehnung im wayfarer Einspruch eingelegt…

Allerdings hab ich da nicht in meine Mails geschaut…

Erst mit der Sperre dann. :woman_facepalming:

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8

this could also mean the photo was third party or was found elsewhere on the internet, not necessarily ai.

Edit to say nvm. I didn’t scroll all the way back to the top

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9

Dankeschön.
Ich meinte die Email, in der dir bestätigt wurde, dass du den Wayspot eingereicht hast. Da ist für gewöhnlich alles drin: Fotos*, Beschreibung, Koordinaten.

'* bei den über web-submission übermittelten ist zZt nur ein Supportfoto enthalten

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10

Aktuell finde ich die Mail nicht, oder habe sie nicht mehr.

Ich befürchte, dass ich die 30 Tage Sperre absitzen muss und Pech gehabt habe.

Wenn man kein Großer YouTuber oder streamer ist. :woman_shrugging:t2:

Hat man halt Pech.

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11

Not really, yesterday someone got a wrong 30 day ban, and overturned within hour.

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12

Ach nein, man muss keine Berühmtheit sein. Wie Cyndie schon erklärt hat, gibt es diese Begründung auch in anderen Fällen.
Und wenn du die Email nicht mehr findest, ist es auch nicht schlimm.
Wichtig ist, dass die Bilder wirklich deine eigenen sind. Hast du sie denn noch irgendwo im Internet hochgeladen?

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13

I’ve just read the article you linked. It says the cowboys have now moved and the article says they will pop up in different locations over the next couple of years. On this basis, the nomination will be rejected anyway as they are “temporary or seasonal” - I know that’s not what you were asking about, but I thought it best to let you know so even if you get the ban overturned, it’s unlikely this would get accepted and added.

I hope you get sorted as it certainly seems a very unfair ban when that newspaper sticks very clearly showed that it wasn’t AI generated.

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14

The Wayfater team takes all appeals seriously, being a YouTuber or streamer has no bearing on their decision.

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15

Nein ich habe nirgendwo Bilder hochgeladen oder runtergeladen…

Lediglich vom Handy fotografiert und ein paar Tage / Wochen später als Zeit war.

Bei wayfarer als PokeStop eingereicht.

16

Hey @0815RotzGoere ,

I have revoked your suspension. You should have access to your accounts now. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thanks,

9 Likes
17

Hallo,
vielen Dank nochmals für die Aufhebung meiner Sperre.

Ich habe zwei Fragen zu meinem Account:
1. Silberkronkorken
Während meiner Sperre lief die Zeit für einen Silberkronkorken ab, den ich dadurch nicht mehr einsetzen konnte.
Wäre es möglich, diesen erstattet zu bekommen?
2. Geschenkte Forschung
Ein Freund hat mir während meiner Sperre die käufliche Spezialforschung „Schillerndes Keldeo – Meisterwerk-Forschung: Fohlenabenteuer“ geschenkt.
Da ich aufgrund der Sperre keinen Zugriff hatte, konnte ich sie nicht nutzen.
Könnte diese Forschung mir erneut zur Verfügung gestellt werden?

Ist sowas möglich?

Ich würde mich sehr über eine positive Rückmeldung freuen.
Vielen Dank im Voraus!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
0815RotzGoere

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18

Unfortunately, I cannot help you with these requests. These are outside the scope of Wayfarer. Please reach out to in-App support for further assistance. Thanks,

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19

That’s extremely disappointing. This appears to be Wayfarer staff fault. The team who made the mistake should be making efforts to make amends.

How many incorrect suspensions were lifted the last month? How many people never found their way here for help?

This is why people stay away from the Wayfarer program and I feel I can no longer support it.

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Ja recht hast du, ich werde es über den Support in Pokémon Go versuchen.

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