Instagram has removed numerous protest- and politics-related posts in India following meetings between Meta executives and the government, signalling a new phase of content suppression linked to ongoing tensions over anti-establishment material during recent youth protests.
Instagram has removed a growing number of protest- and politics-related posts in India after a series of tense meetings between Meta executives and the Union government, according to The Hindu. Accounts linked to opposition leaders, political parties, student activists, ordinary protesters and media outlets have been affected, with the blocked material including posts from the Indian Youth Congress, Arvind Kejriwal, the Cockroach Janta Party and Scroll.in. Screenshots attached to some of the removals cited the IT Rules, 2021, suggesting that the material was being taken down through the legal notice system rather than filtered only through ordinary platform moderation.
The clampdown appears to be tied to official concern over the spread of anti-establishment content on social media during and after last month’s youth protests, which ended with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan leaving the Cabinet, The Hindu reported. Many of the removed posts were reels, Instagram’s short-form video format, and some had attracted millions of views. Users on X have said the protest content that remains visible on Instagram is appearing less often in recommendations, raising questions about whether Meta is also adjusting the platform’s distribution system, not just deleting individual posts.
The current wave of removals fits a broader pattern of pressure on the company in India. In December 2025, Meta restricted access to two AI-generated Congress videos that depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi alongside Gautam Adani after police notices from Delhi, while saying the clips did not breach its community standards. In February 2026, another parody animation of Modi posted by The Wire was blocked across major platforms, triggering criticism from press groups that said the outlet had not been told why the material was removed. Earlier, in 2022, Instagram briefly removed a satirical Wire post about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath before restoring it, and controversy followed claims that BJP leader Amit Malviya had received unusual access on the platform, claims Meta denied.
Civil society groups say the legal machinery behind these actions is itself a concern. The Software Freedom Law Centre, India, said on Thursday that many takedown requests are being routed through the Home Ministry’s Sahyog portal, creating what it described as a parallel censorship system without the safeguards attached to Section 69A of the IT Act. That process gives platforms and the government fast removal powers, but critics argue it lacks notice, reasons and meaningful appeal. Meta did not respond to a request for comment on the latest round of restrictions.
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