Instagram reverses decision, takes down Milo Yiannopoulos post about mail bombs
Right-wing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday shared an Instagram post showing that the social media platform took down a previous post of his where he cheered the explosive devices sent to prominent Democratic figures.
“It doesn’t matter whether your post violates their terms of service or not—only whether enough social justice warriors complain about it,” Yiannopoulos wrote on Instagram with a photo displaying a message he received regarding his post.
The message stated Instagram had removed his post because it didn’t follow the company’s community guidelines.
“Mob rule,” Yiannopoulos added.
Earlier on Thursday, Yiannopoulos drew attention after he said on Instagram that he he wished the bombs sent to Democratic figures such as former President Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton had detonated.
“Just catching up with news of all these pipe bombs,” he wrote. “disgusting and sad (that they didn’t go off, and the daily beast didn’t get one).”
Instagram initially declined to remove the post after the post was reported to the company by The Daily Beast.
The company told news outlet that the post “does not violate our Community Guidelines.”
But the company later changed its course. Instagram spokeswoman Stephanie Noon told The Daily Beast that “this content violates our policies and has been removed from Instagram and Facebook,”
“We prohibit celebration or praise of crimes committed, and we will remove content praising a bombing attempt as soon as we’re aware.”
Yiannopoulos’s posts come as reports continue to surface regarding a bevy of explosive devices and suspicious packages that were sent to prominent Democratic figures.
Yiannopoulos resigned from Breitbart in 2017. But he still possesses a large following in right-wing internet circles.
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