Instagram Suppresses Political Speech + Disables Punching Back on Your Own Content

Sam Cliff
2 min readDec 31, 2023

Political speech is a two way street and recently there are a lot of people about to get run over for weaving around dangerously…

A Very Short Article

So I made a political joke post, one in the spirit of Norm MacDonald. Basically, it’s not really a setup-punchline frame, it’s self-reflexive, um, genetically it’s just a punchline hanging out there, get it or not. What was the post content?

The childish attitude of “If we didn’t win you must have cheated!” is really pathetic and makes you sound like even more of a loser.

Like, I know the tools of the trade. I’m also in the Writing business. On my Instagram Business Profile. A mob of shitposters showed up. I did get to hear some new conspiracy theories! The one about the attack on Donald Trump while in the White House because Hillary? I don’t even. I’ll wait for Jordan Klepper to find it in the wild.

How I Got Punished for “Community Standards” by Instagram

Took me a bit of sleep but my brain figured it out. Why are they allowed to keep posting on my content, but I can’t reply to message after message of right-wing lunacy? Oh, and for the record, when I did try to curb stomp five posts by one guy at once — he told me to play my guitar in the Israel / Palestine…

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Sam Cliff

Gonzo School of Journalism, BA & MA, Guitarist, OCTX, IG austin_on_guitar