Is Santa Claus real? Yes, Virginia, but he had to prove that to Facebook before the company would restore his social media account.

Santa Claus is indeed a real person, reports the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. This Santa doesn’t live at the geographic North Pole with a workshop full of overworked elves, but about 1,700 miles away in North Pole, Alaska, where he’s also a city councilman.

Mr. Claus — his legal name — created the Facebook account eight years ago, and amassed some 300,000 followers, all before Facebook suspended the page. The jolly bearded one felt slighted by the move, especially since there are so many fake Santa accounts on the site.

He says he wasn’t given a reason and was asked to verify his identity several times. So he sent in his Alaska driver’s license, his letter of appointment to the North Pole City Council, and a letter of appointment to the Alaska Public Broadcasting Commission signed by Gov. Bill Walker. Nothing worked.

“They just don’t believe my name is Santa Claus or I live in North Pole,” he said. He often posts Santa Claus-like quotes on his page and says he enjoyed interacting with folks in the comments.

When asked about suspending Claus’ account, Facebook apologized for what it called a “mistake.”

“The account was removed in error and restored as soon as we were able to investigate. Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong,” Facebook said in a statement to the News-Miner.

This isn’t the first time he’s been asked to prove he is who he says he is, Claus wrote on Facebook after his account was restored.

“I realize and am grateful that Facebook has afforded me a ‘free’ platform to express and share my views for more than eight years,” he wrote, adding, “I am blessed to live in a relatively small community and have friends and neighbors and hundreds of thousands of folks who like my page who are willing to help right wrongs, perceived and real. My Facebook page is a labor of love, and I would never intentionally abandon you. Thank you for your understanding.”

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