Instagram Bans Redfish Without Proper Explanation

Redfish GmbH is a Berlin-based project where activists submits information on grassroots struggles worldwide.

On Thursday, Instagram banned the official account of Redfish, an activist media platform  with no explanation.

Redfish GmbH is a Berlin-based project where activists submits information on grassroots struggles worldwide. It is owned by Ruptly that focuses on creating short and in depth documentaries in collaboration with the world’s most marginalized and oppressed populations.

Redfish has people on the ground who co-create the stories, in their own words with the support of a team of professional journalists, producers, camera people, directors, editors and graphic designers who make the final content.

This is the second such ban this year, following Facebook’s – which owns Instagram – removal of the page last April.

“While we are not surprised by Instagram’s censorship, we view this latest episode of suppression as part and parcel of the platform’s crackdown on media sources challenging the mainstream.”

In recent months, Redfish has also cited indicators of external suppression. The media team states that social media accounts have falsely labelled Redfish as “Russian-controlled media”.

According to Redfish team, their social media accounts are under a politically motivated  clampdown as the account’s growth is repressed while its other metrics improved.

Redfish has tried reaching out to Instagram for clarification on the reason behind the ban. Instagram has given ambiguous responses citing “privacy and security reasons” as to why they could not “disclose this information.” Facebook/Instagram did not appear willing to properly explain the rationale behind their censorship.

Currently, Redfish is unable to appeal against the decision because a form provided by Facebook for this purpose is rejecting its blocked account.

With over 419K followers, redfish had grown an active community of Instagram users who rely on the page for alternative news coverage centering the world’s most marginalized and oppressed populations and their causes.

On several occasions, the U.S. State Department accused Redfish of being part of a Russian propaganda apparatus, arguing that its funding came from Ruptly, a news agency owned by public TV network Russia Today (RT). Echoing this narrative, for instance, the Daily Beast claimed that Redfish received orders from the Kremlin during the Donald Trump administration.

Also Read: Ethical Journalism and Alternate Media

In April, Redfish’s account in Facebook was also deleted for claimed violations of community standards. Publications marking the defeat of fascism in Italy and remembering the victims of the Holocaust triggered the ban since the featured photos of semi-naked Auschwitz death-camp inmates were flagged for allegedly violating rules on “nudity and sexual activity.”

Its account was restored after media regulator Roskomnadzor stepped in with a warning that Facebook could face fines for violating “key principles of free distribution of information” and infringing the rights of online companies.

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March 2024
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