Last week I tried to post a meme about the 2020 NYC lockdown and got hit with a shadowban within an hour.

I shared a screenshot from a protest back in May 2020, just a guy holding a sign that said 'let us work.' It wasn't violent or anything, just a simple picture. But Instagram flagged it as misinformation before it even got 10 likes. Three years ago, you could post stuff like that and people would just argue in the comments. Now the platform decides for you what's true. This was last Tuesday around 10pm, and by Wednesday morning the post was gone with no appeal option. I'm curious how many people here have had a meme or image removed that wasn't hateful, just politically inconvenient.

2 comments

2 Comments

robin4891mo ago

Three years ago that post wouldve started a conversation not gotten deleted.

dakota_singh391mo ago

Oh man, remember when you could actually disagree with someone and people would hash it out instead of just hitting report? I posted about a local band's cover being better than the original last week and that thing was gone in 20 minutes. Three years ago that would have been a 50 comment thread with people arguing about production quality and vocal styles. Now everyone just wants to shut down anything they don't agree with. It's exhausting honestly.