Who destroyed my Instagram profile?

Meta permanently disabled it. A TRUE STORY (with an unsatisfying ending.)

Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash

It is no secret having a public profile on social media can expose you to bad actors. That said, for over a decade I kept a relatively low, yet still categorically “public,” profile on Instagram under my cheeky profile moniker (invented and coined by my friend, TV writer, Aaron Ginsburg) that is “LebaneseLooker” (preceded by that ubiquitous at symbol). As an actress, podcaster and aspiring TV writer, I utilized instagram as a way to keep up with the industry and to network. As just a regular ol’ person, I used it as a personal space to live a little bit online with my peers and colleagues. I could occasionally promote stuff, as well as see what the conversation was about in current events or just see folks living a certain way. My playful voyeurism was sated, and I developed a bit of an admitted scrolling dependency.

My posts this summer of 2023 on Instagram were primarily from the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike pickets here in their epicenter of Los Angeles, that kicked off in May. As requested by my union, I added all of the necessary hashtags on my posts to raise awareness of our labor actions. Then, last week, I had posted a bit of a personal life photo dump from a recent and joyful visit with my mom in Charleston, SC that overlapped with some old, very dear friends being in town. That particular post, which was just a series of family and friends, received a high amount of traction for what my “feed” typically receives.

Me in Charleston on the beach last week. I posted selfies sometimes!

Then on Thursday night I received this email

Always double check an alarming email isn’t a SCAM!

Thinking it COULD have been a phishing email, I opened the Instagram app on my mobile device instead. Well, it was INDEED saying I needed to take action because of violating their guidelines. I followed the prompts to undergo a “review.” The prompts were ostensibly to deem if I were a real account holder and not a bot, I entered all of the vetting “codes” sent to me.

Within minutes, of the “review” and “appeal” I received this email:

Their “respectful” place is CLEARLY DISRESPECTING!

I may never know who went after my posts or why they decided to engage in a Revenge Ban. Someone disturbed by my posts must’ve flagged my content to instagram. I can’t possibly think of how my profile could have been spit into Meta’s AI algorithm filter, after over ten years of similar content, without an alert action or actions to kick my account into such a “zone” (or “Zuck zone,” sorry couldn’t resist!) Whoever did this, though, might find comfort knowing the inconvenience and disappointment it has caused. You destroyed a piece of my virtual property and online space I took for granted, and you achieved whatever emotion you were seeking to feel by going after something I valued.

Not having an opportunity to back up data (although I have a good chunk backed up, I just discovered a cache I’d saved!) has caused me to lose interactions with friends and family both online and off.

One of my earliest Instagram posts from 2012! I found a few years of posts I had mercifully backed up, deep in my archives.

The inconvenience of trying to build a new profile has been met with unforeseen frustrations. Did you know if you want to duplicate who you followed, Instagram limits how many profiles you can add at one time? At the slowest drip allowed by Meta, I am attempting to build a feed of folks with whom I daily checked in with to see what they are doing, how they are living (through their filtered online lens) and learn what they are thinking. Little did I know how much I enjoyed this little community as a part of my daily routine, since most of the content contained joy and positivity that added a bit of value to my day to day.

I’m confronted with my relationship to social media. Is being so “online” healthy? I felt I had achieved a bit of a balance in my day and my life with it. Some days were better than others, but I thought I was checking in with myself often enough to be sure I wasn’t using it as some kind of crutch through these “interesting” times.

Anyway, I am sharing to let people know to back up data. Also, it is prudent to be aware of Revenge Bans as an act of emotional terrorism that is now on the table in this increasingly AI dependent eco-system. An eco-system that is coinciding with a mental health crisis in society.

This update is also a long-shot plea, if anyone knows anyone who works at Meta, perhaps you would be kind enough to connect me to a human there?

My long-shot plea: if anyone knows anyone who works at Meta, perhaps you would be kind enough to connect me to someone who knows how to appeal this?

Trying to reverse an error with Meta has been futile. There is seemingly no recourse. That said, a lot of folks have DMed me to say

Kelly Oxford

went through this exact same thing and recovered her original profile. I have reached out, and Kelly, if you see this, I am very sorry you experienced this and would welcome any advice you are willing to share with me. I watched YouTube videos about creating a “business page” with Meta to get to a human tech support chat feature, only to learn I have NOT SPENT MONEY ON ADS in order to qualify for that privilege. I have, however, scrolled through trillions of dollars of ads on their products, though! So, I feel justified trying to find a person who can help me attempt to enable my profile again, since I know none of my content could POSSIBLY have authentically or factually violated any of their guidelines and this has all of the indications of a Revenge Ban.

Hi, it’s Meta, I’m the problem, it’s Meta!

Anyway, the warning on their app is saying they will be permanently deleting my information from that profile, unsure when, so it is possibly lost for good.

I would at least like to try to recover the data that is (an albeit curated) journal of my existence of my last decade.

If anyone has provable, actionable advice on recovering a permanently disabled profile scheduled for sociopathic deletion, I would welcome it! The comment section is OPEN for ways to connect with a human at Meta or any other known way to reverse this. Note: I was not hacked, I use (and embrace!) two factor authentication and there was no evidence of someone trying to commandeer my profile — this was seemingly from being flagged to Meta as harmful. (Again, just posted photos of friends and family! Not harmful.) And, I have heard from a few people they have attempted to flag ACTUAL hateful and harmful accounts, and it has proven impossible. AI is dangerously patriarchal, since it is being fine-tuned by baby boy billionaires. THAT IS ANOTHER POST, but it is a DISTURBING a reality.

Thank you for listening to my absurd little tech saga! This is obviously an overcome-able life speed bump, but should I learn how to recover my profile, I can then share such knowledge with others so they may also ease any turmoil something like this might cause them. Stay safe online, y’all!

with gratitude,

Janie