New Delhi: In a strange turn of events, Facebook and Instagram on Thursday unblocked the #sikh hashtag after nearly three months, admitting that the block happened ‘mistakenly’ as the result of a report in early March. Also Read – #BlackOutTuesday: Here’s Why Millions of People Are Posting Black Squares On Twitter & Instagram
More shocking was the fact that the company had no knowledge about the incident and became aware of the block only on Wednesday after many social media users reported the issue and raised concern over the blocking of the hashtag Sikh.
Users said that whenever the #sikh hashtag was being searched on the platform, Instagram opened up an error message window.
Meanwhile, many users found about the blocked hashtag when they tried to post about the 36th anniversary of Operation Blue Star that happened in June 1984 and accused Instagram of silencing the voices of Sikhs. Ravinder Singh, founder and CEO of the NGO Khalsa Aid and Canadian author and poet Rupi Kaur were among the notable celebrities to criticise the ban.
It’s absolutely crazy that @Facebook has banned the #Sikh hashtag !!!!
Is mr #Zuckerberg now banning people who are #Sikh ?!??
This must be THE STUPIDEST ban ever !!! @fbnewsroom @facebookapp pic.twitter.com/M5gQc0PypF
— ravinder singh (@RaviSinghKA) June 3, 2020
the hypocrisy of @facebook‘s approach to free speech:
zuckerberg says fb’s principles prohibit him from blocking trump as he incites violence & hate.
meanwhile as sikhs raise their voice to mark the injustices of 1984: sikh hashtags are blocked.@instagramcomms do better. https://t.co/wk53NvKbIz pic.twitter.com/vMEw7f02Gv
— rupi kaur (@rupikaur_) June 3, 2020
Why has Instagram blocked the hashtag #Sikh @instagram @mosseri?
In the same week that #Neverforget1984 trends on Twitter, Instagram seemingly conspires to suppress the truth about the atrocities of the 1984 Sikh genocide by censoring the faith of 27 million people. https://t.co/2JoHTYGYjY
— SikhPressAssociation (@SikhPA) June 3, 2020
#Sikh is being hidden on Instagram when you click on it. You can’t even search it. It’s no coincidence that this is happening in the month of June. On the 36th year anniversary of the Sikh Genocide. @instagram
— 悟空 (@Gurinder94_) June 3, 2020
So the hashtag #Sikh has disappeared on @Instagram during the 36th anniversary of the 1984 attacks and subsequent Genocide of Sikhs. Can’t be a coincidence🤔
For those that missed my initial post on June 1st read up on the Sikh Genocide, Operation Bluestar ✌🏾 #NeverForget84 pic.twitter.com/RXv3F74kku— Mal Jutley (@maljutley) June 3, 2020
Sikhs won’t be silenced!
It’s no coincidence that the #sikh hashtag has been blocked when so many people are creating awareness on the Sikh Genocide. It’s like blocking the word Jew on holocaust day.
Keep uploading posts use the hashtags #neverforget1984 #sikhgenocide #sikhs pic.twitter.com/BQteA1BcIP
— Shere Panjab (@SherePanjabUK) June 3, 2020
After receiving a large number of complaints, Instagram unblocked the hashtag hastily followed by Facebook.
Apologising for the same, Instagram wrote, “We became aware that these hashtags were blocked today following feedback we received from the community and quickly moved to unblock them. Our processes fell down here, and we’re sorry.”
We have unblocked the hashtag #sikh on Instagram and are working to unblock #sikh on Facebook. We’re investigating why this happened. We will follow up here later today with more information.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) June 3, 2020
Thanks for your patience today. We investigated this issue and found that these hashtags were mistakenly blocked on March 7th following a report that was inaccurately reviewed by our teams.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) June 3, 2020
Saying that their intention was to never silence the voice of a community, Instagram added that it understands this is an incredibly important, painful time for the Sikh community.
This is an incredibly important, painful time for the Sikh community. We designed hashtags to allow people to come together and share with one another. It’s never our intention to silence the voices of this community, we are taking the necessary steps so this doesn’t happen again
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) June 3, 2020
Facebook later revealed that the #sikh hashtag was first blocked on Facebook and Instagram on March 7, following a report that was inaccurately reviewed by their teams.
