Former Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard took to social media on Thursday to say that her Instagram account has been shadow banned.
Gabbard claimed in the social media post that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is preventing Gabbard’s messages on the platform from being disseminated, an action she calls “censorship” in another video.
To my many friends on Instagram: I am being shadow banned. Unfortunately, Zuckerberg is blocking you from receiving many of my messages. This mini-tyrant is also de-prioritizing my name/account in the discover/search pages and … pic.twitter.com/Eu0rm0nhHK
Gabbard posted on Friday in a second post that a shadow ban is when the owner’s account isn’t searchable on the social media platform for other users.
Also, Gabbard said in an online video she posted, that when her account is reachable for users, a warning for readers says that the account has been responsible for false information, and that when people try to tag it, a message explains the action can’t be done because the platform is trying to protect the community.
“What are they protecting their community from? Nobody knows,” Gabbard says.
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I’ve gotten some questions from people who are not familiar with the term “shadow ban” and are asking exactly what it is. So I want to take a minute to show you. pic.twitter.com/bPW26pAufu
The videos were found by Big Island Now on the account @TulsiGabbard on Friday on Twitter as well as Instagram with none of the blocks or warnings.
Gabbard ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. The Hawaii representative served in Congress from 2013 to 2021.
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Earlier this year, Gabbard blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Biden administration’s foreign policy and argued against economic sanctions on Russia. Gabbard stated that the United States is trying to turn Ukraine another Afghanistan. Earlier this month, she said media freedom in Russia is “not so different” to that of the United States. Political scientists described her claim as false.
Gabbard, in a video shared on Twitter on March 13, talked out about the threat of “U.S.-funded bio labs” in Ukraine being hit by Russian forces, leading to the potential transmission of “deadly pathogens,” as Newsweek pointed out in an article about the statements on Friday.
Tom Hasslinger Tom Hasslinger is a journalist who lives in Kailua-Kona. Prior to joining Big Island Now, he worked as the managing editor for West Hawaii Today and deputy editor for The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai. He's worked for over 15 years as a reporter for the Oahu-based Civil Beat news outlet, as well as in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Douglas Wyoming. Read Full Bio
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