Fiverr Community Forum

Cancelling order that contains questionable material

Welcome Fiverr FAQ
#1

I do an editing gig on Fiverr and I get a lot of religious material. Recently, I got this 100,000 word book to edit which is the biggest order I’ve had in a long time. Good money. Still…
It is labeled and was described to me when the order was placed as “A history of Islam”. Cool. I’m a history nerd and I my knowledge of the subject is limited.

Now, I’m 100 pages into it and the last 20 pages have been a laundry list of all the crimes America and the west have committed against Islamic nations. I just finished reading a rather worrisome part where the guy listed someone who made homemade bombs and blew up some French people in Libya as a national hero. This no longer feels like a history. It feels like fundamentalist Islamic propaganda. It has a very hateful, angry vibe to it, full of rants that were not there the first 50 pages and demands for apologies from western nations.

I’m going to cancel the order but now I worry that I should report this to someone. This is very concerning. Someone let me know what I should do.

#2

While I’m with you as far as how ridiculous that sounds, believing in nonsense, even angry, hateful nonsense isn’t a crime. I’d just cancel the order and let it ride.

#3

Freedom of speech. Remember, that Osama bin Laden was once an asset to the United States back in the cold war years, as indeed were the Taliban.

Realpolitik doesn’t care about your concern. If you have an aversion to proofing copy like this, simply cancel the job. I can’t say anything about the book, but remember that all history is subjective. It would be more helpful if you mentioned who the Libyan hero was so I could research it myself rather than go by your own reading. (P.S. Gadaffi, like Saddam, was a longtime friend of the US–indeed the first gulf war directly came about as a result of US meddling–read up on Glaspie, the US ambassador to Iraq at the time).

This isn’t even going into the mess that is Saudi Arabia or Israel. You’re reacting to what you perceive as questionable material–the reality is far worse, I can assure you. Why not take this as an opportunity to learn how millions are thinking–and even consider how you could work at changing perceptions?

But yeah, cancel the order and report it to someone if you must. You seem to be seeking some kind of validation while providing no details for commenters to judge on. Just remember all of this next time the news reports on those refugees flooding Europe. Islamic fundamentalism is born out of desperation and manipulation–and fueled with covert support from the most (un)expected sources.

#4

Oh go on, send me the book, I want to read it now. I love propaganda!

#5

In politics, every story has two sides. Probably, CNN version of the facts sounds to others as much as propaganda as that book may sound to you. But, anyway, I would never do a job that I didn’t feel confortable doing.

My main worry when I’m offered a big order is a different one, though. Will I get paid, or will the buyer make a Paypal dispute, or request a cancellation, or something like that to get the work for free? With all the horror stories about that, I usually don’t accept orders higher that $100 from new or suspicious buyers. Money is not that important, but my time is priceless.

#6

Yes, that is a bigger issue at a personal level :slight_smile:

Geopolitics is an incredibly thorny area, however.

Is it just me or are all attachments now some weird multi-picture logo? I’ve noticed it over few threads tonight. I suppose the team is working on it…

#7

There is no one to report this to. Our national security is well aware of all the hateful anti American propaganda around and this is not anything new. It’s all over the place now unfortunately.