On Monday, July 21st, Instagram temporarily suspended the account of Zohran Mamdani, a New York State Assembly member and NYC mayoral candidate. The suspension, which lasted approximately 3 hours before his account was reinstated, was explained by Instagram senior directors in an internal leaked memo that his content was deemed “too socialist,” and goes against current national US interest. Mamdani is known for his progressive and socialist-leaning views, sparking debate over the social media platforms’ content moderation policies and political bias. In 2025, Meta Platforms (parent company of Instagram and Facebook) has increasingly aligned itself with President Donald Trump and right-wing causes. In January of this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated millions to Trump’s inauguration fund and contributed to political action committees supporting restrictions on abortion rights. Zuckerberg has also met with Trump multiple times at the Mar-a-Lago resort, fueling speculation and internal concerns about the company’s evolving far-right political affiliations. These latest actions raise questions about how these relationships might influence content moderation decisions on its platforms.
Zohran Mamdani, who represents the 36th district in Queens (Astoria and Ditmars zones), has recently been extremely vocal on social media about issues such as affordable housing, workers’ rights, and universal healthcare for all Americans, has criticized the suspension as a form of political censorship because he is a Democrat. In a private statement following his account being let back online, Mamdani called the suspension “an alarming example of how corporate social media platforms police and suppress progressive political speech under vague pretenses to satisfy their corporate sponsors.”
Instagram’s content moderation policies, designed to curb misinformation, hate speech, and harmful content, have frequently been scrutinized for alleged political biases. Critics from both the left and right have accused the platform of uneven enforcement, though the company maintains its guidelines are applied impartially. However, in 2025, Facebook relocated most of its misinformation and content moderations operations to Texas, a move that employees saw as part of a broader ideological shift towards the far-right.
Political analysts note that Mamdani’s suspension highlights ongoing challenges in balancing content moderation with protecting political speech in a fair manner, especially for emerging voices on the left. The term “too socialist,” although not an official moderation category, has become a rallying point in political discussions about consistency of applying the rules for everyone.
“This episode underscores the power social media platforms have in shaping political narratives and freedom of information,” said David Howard a political communications expert based in Washington D.C. “When elected, or officials that are campaigning are affected, it raises broader questions about democratic engagement and fair access to digital spaces.”
Online discourse has become increasingly fragmented in recent years, as political polarization has driven users to seek out platforms that align more closely with their ideological beliefs. Rather than engaging in digital spaces where arguments and toxic behavior about policy are frequent, many Americans now are on social media apps that are tailored for their political party. Conservatives have gravitated toward platforms like Truth Social, launched by Donald Trump, Parler, Rumble, Gettr, and X (formerly Twitter), which under Elon Musk’s leadership has become a favored outlet for right-wing voices. Meanwhile, progressives and left-leaning users have migrated to progressive safe havens such as Bluesky, Vyb, Mastodon, DailyKost and Reddit, which emphasizes open connections and control and content moderation aligned with progressive values. This digital divide reflects a broader erosion of common ground in American political discourse.
As of Monday, 5:30pm, Mamdani’s Instagram account was fully restored, with no indication of ongoing restrictions. The lawmaker has resumed posting content related to his legislative work , progressive polices and mayoral campaign.
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