Bella Hadid says Instagram has 'shadow banned' her over Palestine posts

Model Bella Hadid has called out Instagram in a recent series of posts, claiming she had been ‘shadow banned’ after posting about the situation unfolding in Palestine. Hadid, who is Dutch and Palestinian, wrote about her experience on Instagram stories and claimed her content was being suppressed whenever she posted any related content.

Sharing a close up photograph of her eye on her Instagram Stories, she wrote, ‘My Instagram has disabled me from posting on my story - pretty much only when it is Palestine based I’m going to assume.’

‘When I post about Palestine I get immediately shadow banned and almost 1 million less of you see my stories and posts,’ she said.

Marie Claire UK has reached out to Instagram for comment.

Hadid is one of the most popular celebrities on Instagram, with over 51 million followers at the time of publication. She additionally shared screenshots of her attempts to post stories only for them to fail, captioning one ‘won’t let me repost…2 hours now.’

Hadid has been sharing Instagram stories regarding the tensions in Palestine unfolding during the month of Ramadan, a holy time for Muslims during which worshippers pray for long hours and fast. Recently, medics based in Palestine said over 150 Palestinians were injured after Israeli riot police entered a mosque. The Palestine Red Crescent said on Twitter rubber bullets and sound grenades were fired at worshippers, who were also beaten.

Tensions between Palestine and Israel have mounted in recent weeks, with clashes on both sides taking place over Ramadan – leading to greater Israeli military presence in the West Bank. A series of attacks in Israel by Palestinians have also claimed the lives of fourteen people over the past month. 

Hadid was later able to successfully share more Instagram stories about Palestine, including news stories, videos and other photographs. Some of her Instagram stories were flagged as sensitive content by the platform, which were blurred by the app and require viewers to opt in to view ‘content that some people may find distressing’ an Instagram message reads.

Hadid and her sister Gigi have both fiercely demonstrated their support for Palestine in the past, both on social media to their millions of followers and in person. Hadid has been seen attending pro-Palestine protests over the years, including a 2017 London protest where she stood amongst people holding ‘Free Palestine’ signs and another last year in New York.