The Mysterious Instagram Shadowban

I’m aware it’s been a little while since I posted. There’s a reason behind it. Pretty big things have been happening and of course I plan to reveal all to you at the glacial pace of a hospital drip – mwahahahaha, tease!!! But today I’m going to be talking about something else entirely. Something that perhaps you have or haven’t heard of – the Instagram shadow ban (insert grim reaper emoji here).

It’s often been considered to be the stuff of digital urban legend. A millennial’s worst nightmare. Is an Instagram shadow ban even real? What do we actually know about it? Instagram of course keep pretty schtum on the matter, ironically, and therefore even extensive research can neither confirm or deny its existence. If we were to consult wikipedia we would learn that a shadow ban is the act of blocking or partially blocking a user or their content from an online community such that it will not be readily apparent to the user that they have been banned. So, just imagine that you’re going about your own business, innocently and as authentically as you always do, excited to share with your audience an epic travel adventure and then BOOM – you’re one of the condemned………..The boogeyman is real and he’s all up in your grill! As dramatic as I am making this sound, this is actually what happened one week ago.

As always, this is my account of what happened TO ME personally. I am well aware that people fall victim to the dreaded shadow ban for many reasons. Today I’m just going to be talking about what happens when someone reports one of your photos.

Oh little Charlie. Enjoying 20 degree sunshine at a marina in The Netherlands. Shortly after this picture was taken we were paddling in the sea. But due to Charlie’s autism and sensory processing, he finds the material of swim shorts irritating. Therefore to help make things that little bit easier for him, he wears his regular underpants, unless of course he is going swimming and becoming completely immersed. I don’t know why I am even explaining this to you. In my opinion this photo (shared on my instagram stories by the way, not my main feed) IS representative of our daily life. It’s innocent. It’s beautiful. It’s a child enjoying his holiday. Somebody didn’t feel the same way. Within an hour of it being posted the photo was reported and I received a message from Instagram – “Your Post Has Been Removed” along with the brief explanation “We removed it because it doesn’t follow our Community Guidelines.” You know, just in case I was baffled as to why – I was!

At first I was just kind of annoyed that someone had reported it. Especially because my stories are pretty much only watched by people who follow me. I figured that if somebody had an issue with what I was posting they could’ve messaged me directly and told me. But after a few minutes I just shrugged it off as pettiness, someone with a grudge or just plain jealousy. It wasn’t until the next day that I realised that none of my photos were now appearing under any hashtags. Even the hashtags I created myself. Gone, all just gone! This is when I flew in to a panic. I felt sick. Partly because I abide by all the rules when it comes to social media. I pride myself on never playing the follow/unfollow game or paying for followers etc. The idea that Instagram now believed I had done something wrong was really grating on me. Also I was just genuinely afraid that my account might be shut down and that all my hard work, time, investment would be “poof” gone, just like that. The lack of control sent me in to an all too familiar spin and that’s not a pleasant place to revisit.

 

I get why Instagram does what it does. I am quite obviously against the posting and sharing of indecent images of children. That’s not what my account is though. Surely if someone took the time to look through my entire feed they would get that, right? It’s also frustrating that there is no rhyme or reason as to how Instagram is policed. I for one have reported several accounts, mainly the ones that promote appetite suppressants to their young, impressionable audience. Do their posts get taken down? NO! They do not go against the Instagram community guidelines apparently. What about the endless stream of images containing women with their boobs or arses out, or the ones where they’re in sexually explicit poses and every comment is from one of those instagrammers who are just there to perve? NO, sorry, those posts are safe too. Yes I am rolling my eyes. The lines are so very very blurred and that’s what makes the whole situation seem so unjust.

I am a mother, a blogger, a traveller. Was my photo of Charlie really so damaging? And even if it was, can someone like me who perhaps has just genuinely made a mistake reason with Instagram? NOPE. Well you can of course contact them, via the app or by email. But it’s a pretty safe bet that you aren’t going to hear back. I also think the decision to limit the exposure an account gets is made by a computer system rather than a person. And it’s as simple as that. You tick a certain box and you are in Instagram “Time Out”. My research this week leads me to believe it’s for a two week period. Please God don’t let it be longer. Can we all keep everything crossed that this time next week I’ll be writing an update to say I’m back in business.

Maybe you’re wondering why I am so upset about having an Instagram shadow ban if it’s only for two weeks? Well, it kind of feels like censorship. As an artist and creator it’s important to me that my audience see my work. I love engaging with my followers and seeing their reactions. I also love it when new people find my account and become invested in my/our story. And as a business woman, the reach on my account is imperative to the brands and companies that I plan to promote. Limiting who sees my account is quite damaging and I guess I’m so worked up because there’s nothing I can do about it.

I read online that perhaps I shouldn’t post anything to my feed – some said for 48 hours, others said the whole two weeks. I considered both and after some time away to cool down, I decided against it. Perhaps I won’t post as much as I usually would but at the same time I want to stay true to who I am. I take photos and I advocate for autism and people with mental health problems. So I shall carry on doing that. It’s sad that less people will see whatever I post in the next week (or whoever knows how long) but there will always be time for them to catch up.

And before I stop going on about this. Thank-you so much to everyone who rallied around. I had so many loving and supportive messages, offers to contact instagram on my behalf, offers to share my feed, tweet, share to facebook etc. It just goes to show that having a true and engaged following, no matter what size, should always be the real goal. The fact that so many people cared that I was upset and that I might stop posting totally makes up for the one small-minded arsehole who reported me.

So that’s all I have to say for now. I’d say don’t post anything that you feel may be misinterpreted by your audience but I just don’t agree with that I’m afraid. I realise that perhaps leaves me vulnerable to being reported again but I never plan on being anything but authentic about our journey. Obviously don’t break the law, but otherwise, you do you and all that!!

Love, as always

Beth Anne