Instagram hiding info on abortion pills? Aid Access account seemingly censored

Meta has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons in the past few days. Just a couple of days after the auto-following and hashtags controversy, it seems the company has now been caught red-handed trying to censor information on abortion pills. In particular, Instagram appears to be targeting Aid Access, one of the largest providers of abortion medication in the U.S.

Jessica Valenti, in her recent Sub-stack article, highlighted the issue, reporting that posts on the Aid Access Instagram account which previously offered information on how to obtain abortion pills have now been blurred out. Not only that, but the account itself seems to have vanished from Instagram’s search function for some, making it nearly impossible for users to locate it, even if they’re already following the group.

This censorship isn’t just anecdotal. Reddit users on r/Prochoice, r/WeResist and r/PrepperIntel have been vocal about their experiences. One user, TheBeccaMonster, shared their frustration, stating, “This is terrifying. Instagram is now censoring the AidAccess Instagram page and for many people, it’s not coming up when searched for.” Another user, Gizmo, echoed these concerns, noting that not only is the account hard to find, but even the posts that do remain visible fail to load properly when clicked, suggesting deliberate censorship.

In my testing (from India), I was able to search for Aid Access without a problem. The account showed up right on top. However, immediately after visiting the profile, I noticed something wrong. A few recent posts were blurred out while others appeared blank. Upon tapping the posts, they simply didn’t load. And no, this wasn’t due to internet issues. A few other posts loaded just fine and posts from other profiles loaded up just fine. I’ve shared some screenshots below for reference:

There were also reports about the platform censoring pro-abortion related content when searching for the hashtag. The timing of these actions has led to speculation about political motivations. After all, Aid Access has been at the forefront of providing abortion access in states where it’s been banned or heavily restricted, drawing ire from conservative forces. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has even sued an Aid Access provider. As Rachel Cohen from Vox pointed out back in 2022, “Republicans might not be able to stop Aid Access right now, but it appears that Silicon Valley can.”

A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that support for abortion medication access has actually increased since the Dobbs decision, with public support rising from just under 49% to over 55%. This suggests that there’s a growing demand for these services, yet access is being curtailed.

Meta is yet to issue a statement on what’s going on exactly, however, if the backlash is swift and widespread, we can expect to see some clarification on the matter. So feel free to share this post and get the word out.