I'm Shadowbanning Instagram
A Black Eyed Story
Carrie Mae Weems | “Untitled (Nude)”. The Kitchen Table Series. 1989-1990
Here’s an audio recording of this Black Eyed Story.
Though it certainly wasn’t my intention, I violated Instagram’s Community Standards on Violence and Incitement when I posted a comment that “may contain something that could encourage violence and lead to risk of physical harm, or a direct threat to public safety.”
I got the news yesterday, which was November 20th ,that Instagram removed a comment I made on June 5th.
On the day in question, I left the following comment in someone else’s comment section:
All I did was read the title and I wanna go punch whoever said this to you dead in the face. I know… it’s not right. But oh my god!!! WTF is wrong with people!!!
Who is “whoever”? I don’t know. And on whose post was I commenting? Again, I have no idea. Instagram didn’t bother sharing these details. All they know is I posted the above comment, and now, five months later, they are letting me know how very irresponsible I’d been posting something so salacious.
But instead of feeling shunned by an algorithm, I’ve decided to spin the story. I’m choosing to make this incident a cautionary tale and not a tale of woe. And because I’m a generous taleteller, I’m making Instagram the hero:
Once upon a time – or in my case last night, Instagram heard my madwoman’s cry and graciously staged an intervention, banished my feed to their shadow-ban dungeon and thus saved my soul. With loving care, Instagram has given me some time to think about the error of my ways and has given me a chance to start over.