Got my Instagram post shadowbanned for sharing a protest livestream link

I was at a climate rally downtown Austin last Saturday around 3pm and filmed the whole thing. When I got home I uploaded a 2 minute clip and added a link to the full livestream on another platform. Within 3 hours my post had zero reach even though I had 200 likes in the first 30 minutes. I appealed but Instagram said it was for "spam behavior" which is total BS. Has anyone else had a post about a protest get buried like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_max1mo ago

Wait did you actually check your post's reach right away? Cause I used to think shadowbanning was just something people made up when their posts flopped. But I had a similar thing happen with a post about workers rights outside a warehouse last month. It got tons of engagement in the first hour then just died completely. Instagram's algorithm seems to have rules about protest content that are way different than normal posts. After seeing your story and mine I'm starting to believe this is real and not just a coincidence.

sarahh481mo ago

Honestly @the_max, guess we're both part of the shadowy club where your post vanishes faster than my motivation on a Monday morning.