Shaun King Says Instagram Banned His Account Because He Was ‘Fighting For Palestine’

Shaun King pictured in 2017. | Source: Karen Ducey / Getty Shaun King’s 6 million followers on Instagram (IG) woke up on Christmas morning to find the activist’s account had been banned and deactivated by the photo- and video-based social media platform. In a subsequent Facebook post, King explained that “Instagram has banned me for fighting for Palestine, and speaking up for the human rights and dignity of Palestinians.” King has devoted his IG in recent months to documenting the plight of Palestinians amid the conflict in Gaza. IG banning King came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country’s military is “not stopping” attacks on areas where Palestinians have been trying to seek refuge from violence. It was unclear what exactly prompted IG’s parent company Meta to ban King’s account there while keeping his Facebook account active. Facebook is also owned and operated by Meta. An email sent by NewsOne to Meta requesting comment was not immediately returned. In the Facebook post, King accused Israel of “genocide” and said he had been using his IG account to help show the world the atrocities faced by Palestinians who were also using their accounts to share the unspeakable imagery of...