Facebook Prevents RFK Jr. from Launching Instagram Campaign Account
Facebook-owned Instagram is preventing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is competing with President Joe Biden in the Democrat primary, from setting up an official campaign account, according to the candidate.
In a post on Twitter, RFK Jr. said that his campaign account is being automatically banned when they attempt to set up a campaign account.
“When we use our TeamKennedy email address to set up Instagram accounts we get an automatic 180-day ban,” said the Democrat candidate on Twitter. “Can anyone guess why that’s happening?”
“To silence a major political candidate is profoundly undemocratic. Social media is the modern equivalent of the town square. How can democracy function if only some candidates have access to it?”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Banned By Major Social Media Site, Campaign Pages Blocked
Twitter owner Elon Musk invited Democrat presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a discussion on his Twitter Spaces after Kennedy said his campaign was suspended by Meta-owned Instagram.
“Interesting… when we use our TeamKennedy email address to set up @instagram accounts we get an automatic 180-day ban. Can anyone guess why that’s happening?” he wrote on Twitter.
An accompanying image shows that Instagram said it “suspended” his “Team Kennedy” account and that there “are 180 days remaining to disagree” with the company’s decision.
In response to his post, Musk wrote: “Would you like to do a Spaces discussion with me next week?” Kennedy agreed, saying he would do it Monday at 2 p.m. ET.
Hours later, Kennedy wrote that Instagram “still hasn’t reinstated my account, which was banned years ago with more than 900k followers.” He argued that “to silence a major political candidate is profoundly undemocratic.”