Instagram has blocked the official account of the Lugansk Media Centre without prior notification, the news agency's editor-in-chief Sergey Meshkovoy said.
"Today, our account on Instagram has been blocked. The social media top management blocked the access to our page to all its followers, they no longer see the account as if they never followed it," he said.
"We were informed we must provide a phone number to restore the access, and we did so," Meshkovoy said.
Nevertheless, administrators still can not access the account.
Meshkovoy described the situation as "a flagrant attempt to destroy photos and videos that show the reality in Donbass, but run counter to Ukrainian Nazi ideology, supported from across the ocean".
"Unfortunately, the Meta company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has long been filtering and discarding content that is unfavourable for certain western countries, fulfilling the will of its owners," the editor-in-chief said.
"That is why any freedom of speech or alternative viewpoints are out of question on these platforms. They are being brutally suppressed, and the cancellation of our account is an illustrative example."
At the same time, the bloody crimes of nationalistic battalions are freely posted and shared on Facebook and Instagram.
"How can we but agree with the decision of a Russian court on recognizing Meta an extremist organization," Meshkovoy said.
Earlier, Lugansk Media Center account on YouTube was terminated without any explanation, warning or strikes. The subsequent appeal remains unanswered. *t
