According to internet monitoring agency GlobalCheck, Russia has placed a restriction on the use of Instagram, which she promised to do last week. The decision will make the social network inaccessible to a large number of the country’s residents.
According to reports, the country announced plans to ban Instagram last week in retaliation to Meta’s decision to let Facebook and Instagram users in some countries call for violence against the Russian military during the nation’s invasion of Ukraine. Facebook and Twitter have already been banned by Russia as the government tries to regulate the flow of information regarding the war.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated in a tweet on Friday that “This decision will cut 80 million in Russia off from one another, and from the rest of the world as ~80% of people in Russia follow an Instagram account outside their country.” “This is wrong.”, says Mosseri.
Some Russian Instagram influencers sent their followers goodbye messages over the weekend, urging them to follow them on other social media platforms or use a VPN service to avoid a state-imposed suspension on the platform.
Also, it was reported that a Russian fashion influencer, Karina Nigay, expressed her displeasure (about the ) in a live video. As Nigay put it, “This is my work.” “Imagine you’ve just been fired from your job and you have no money at all, but you also have bills for your family, for your team if you have subordinates, and then you have nothing to pay your team.”
Afterwards, Nigay opined that the ban would possibly be favourable to Russian fashion companies in the long run. Several viewers on the video made disparaging comparisons between her complaints and the misery of Ukrainians, to which she answered, “Listen, to those who are writing all sorts of filth, all these propaganda stories, I absolutely I don’t give a shit.”
On March 4, Russian leaders restricted access to Facebook, claiming the platform’s alleged bias against Russian state media. This effectively took down one of the most popular platforms for Kremlin critics to express their opinions and organise demonstrations.
The Instagram ban isn’t just affecting Russian fashionistas who have millions of followers. Most likely, Russians who use Instagram to stay in touch or share pictures of their children are also sharing goodbye posts and revealing their Telegram account details. This is because Russia still has access to Telegram.
From tattoo studios to vehicle repair shops, hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises have expressed their dissatisfaction at losing the platform that has long been their primary sales tool.
Furthermore, Russian non-profits that rely on Instagram to raise funds are in disarray.
