Inside Instagram’s Censorship of Psychedelics

When DoubleBlind’s Instagram account was first taken down by Meta in 2021, little explanation was offered. Leading up to the account’s suspension, posts and stories were taken down by the platform and the profile was “shadowbanned,” whereby an account becomes unviewable to non-followers and content receives significantly less engagement. “This decision is based on our guidelines on regulated goods,” one of the many takedown notices says. When DoubleBlind tried to contact Meta, explaining that they had carefully read its guidelines, never violated them, and are a legal media company registered in California, no explanation was given for what they did wrong.

More than once, DoubleBlind’s account mysteriously reemerged after days of nail-biting anxiety but for many other psychedelic industry figures and media organizations, they may never return. 

Little by little, a trend has become noticeable among DoubleBlind’s punished posts. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those that incur Meta’s wrath generally appear to relate to the consumption of psychedelics, no matter that they are usually framed around important harm reduction advice to help keep people safe. Other miscellaneous posts bit the dust, too, with the reasons remaining opaque.

Independent media organizations appear to be bound by certain rules — ones that don’t apply to TV hosts like Oprah and Anderson Cooper, who have openly discussed psychedelics on their primetime shows. So why can’t people on social media discuss the legality of mushroom gummies in Oregon? Or highlight the harms that have occurred at some psychedelic retreat centers and clinics? Or investigate whether Xanax is a safe “trip-killer” or not? Or, even more bizarrely and not at all related to taking psychedelics, how to lucid dream?

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