This Wednesday, a wave of bans on Instagram rocked the media and right-wing activist circles. Several influential accounts, from personalities to media outlets, were blocked for no apparent reason, causing complete incomprehension among their subscribers and account holders.
This action, which appears to be orchestrated, affected numerous accounts linked to conservative political ideas and militant struggles on the right side of the political spectrum. Among the accounts blocked is that of Alice Cordier, feminist activist and leading figure of the Nemesis collective. His account, like that of David Alaime, founder of Media Occidentis, was blocked without warning, despite the lack of recent content or obvious violation of the platform’s rules.
The bans were not limited to France. Right-wing influencers in the UK also saw their accounts disappear overnight, reinforcing the idea of a comprehensive purge. For David Alaime, this ban is incomprehensible: “It’s been a week since anything was posted on the account because I’m on vacation. It’s absurd,” he said.
Alice Cordier, for her part, is not giving up and remains combative: “We can close Insta accounts, but we will never take away our ideas and our influence. If you cut off a head, it will grow back.” His words are in line with those of many other activists and influencers who see this action as an attempt to silence an entire political fringe group.
Charles Allonce, a deputy allied with Eric Ciotti, quickly reacted on X (formerly Twitter) to denounce what he calls an “intolerable climate of censorship”. For him, these blocks are unjustified and represent an attack on freedom of expression: “Your only fault? Tell the truth. You have my full support. »
Instagram has blocked several accounts of right-wing extremist influencers without giving any reasons, including @CordierAlice2 et @Occidentis1followed by hundreds of thousands of Internet users.
Your only mistake? Tell the truth.
This climate of censorship is intolerable. You have my full support. https://t.co/j4q9X7OxRT
— Charles Alloncle (@CHAlloncle) 22. August 2024
Instagram generally justifies account suspensions by violating its community rules, which prohibit, among other things, the posting of content that is violent, hateful, or incites illegal activity. However, none of the suspended accounts appear to have violated these policies. They all engaged in common activities that consisted of exchanging short messages or sharing testimonies, as Alice Cordier did for victims of violence.
This situation raises worrying questions about the management of social media and the power they have over public discourse. In a context where censorship seems to increasingly affect those who dare to express dissenting opinions, the blocking of these accounts seems to be an attack on diversity of opinion and a blatant example of certain voices being marginalized.
Faced with these unjustified suspensions, the right seems more determined than ever to make its voice heard, despite the obstacles posed by censorship, which it considers arbitrary and discriminatory.
