I have long had a hate/hate relationship with social media. It is the place where people mainly try to impress people they don’t know with knowledge they don’t have, to fake lifestyles they don’t live. And that’s assuming we disregard the anonymous trolls, foreign bots, and random, garden-variety bad actors permeating the landscape.
But I digress …
For me, Facebook, Instagram, and its companion Threads (Meta) were more than enough to satisfy my social media needs. I get it. I’m old. I’m not cool. Most importantly, I’m good with it. But what little social media I used was essential to my profession, which, as a political and cultural commentator, included discussion of any and all topics, from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein to Palestine to even Diddy.
In fact, my blue-checkmarked profiles came from years of credibility construction, not from paying a monthly vanity subscription. This is very important. I’ll come back to it later.
But just like that (snap), most of it disappeared.
Recently, my Instagram and Threads accounts were disabled and deleted due to a supposed post in which I violated the terms of service regarding the depiction of children.
Say what?! Children?!
• Showed a child’s genitals
• Showed sexual activity involving children
• Sexualized children
From Meta:
“No one can see or find your account, and you can’t use it. All your information will be permanently deleted. You cannot request another review of this decision.”
No inclusion or mention of the supposed offending post was made. No recourse, review or redress. All gone. But wait, it gets worse.
Meta also informed me that:
“We’re required by law to report suspected cases of child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).”
Was it a discussion of Jeffrey Epstein or some other news-related figure misinterpreted by AI?
Was my account hacked by a nefarious actor who posted some offensive and obscene material? I can’t rule it in or out, as I don’t have access to my account to perform a forensic analysis of any logins from suspicious devices or the like. That, and I “cannot request another review of this decision.” Years of posts, pictures, commentaries and discussions across two platforms, gone. And I can’t even verify whether the supposed violation occurred on Instagram or Threads.
But back to being a verified, blue-checkmark user …
In addition, since I work with children in various capacities outside of work, I’m required to be live-scanned. Live Scan technology uses digital fingerprinting to instantly transmit biometric data to state and federal databases. Its primary uses include rapid criminal background checks for employment — childcare, healthcare and law enforcement — professional licensing, volunteer screenings and firearm permits.
We’re talking about the same DOJ that was run by Pam Bondi and the FBI under Kash Patel.
There is no pornography on my phone to “accidentally” upload. There is no hidden double life. There is no behavior to apologize for or explain. The problem with that is I can neither prove it nor even plead my case. Again, I “cannot request another review of this decision,” nor will I be informed of what might happen next — in the form of a knock on a door from a federal agent or a federal file created (or added to) with my name on it. Today, it is me. Tomorrow, it may be you.
Given the ongoing threats and outright censorship of late-night broadcasts — in both Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert — I can’t rule out whether I was targeted, and neither can you.
Commuted Trump insider Roger Stone interviewed the owner of the aforementioned Los Angeles Times and avowed Trump supporter Patrick Soon-Shiong. And that’s saying nothing of the ongoing efforts to delegitimize CBS News, a Paramount subsidiary firmly intertwined with the Trump administration.
My account didn’t disappear in a vacuum.
If we check the leaderboard:
The top print media, broadcast media and social media are ALL owned by Trump acolytes, actively engaged in exerting public pressure by way of their companies to suppress dissent and force compliance from their employees and users. Whether I am a consequence of bad luck and unforgiving terms of service — or part of a larger effort to squelch opposing voices — who is to say? I can’t definitively say, and neither can you. Whereas I’m generally not a conspiracy theorist, I can’t just ignore publicly available and relevant evidence either.
This presidential administration may only be temporary in the grand scheme of things, but the internet is still forever, whether we like it or not.
O’Kelly is a political and cultural commentator across various media.