Fact Check: No, Instagram is not getting banned in India
A fake screenshot claiming the Instagram ban in India went viral.
By Sunanda Naik Published on 19 Jun 2023 2:41 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Several social media users have posted a screenshot of a news channel First India dated June 17 claiming an imminent ban on Instagram due to its addiction and adverse influence of inappropriate content on youth.
(Source:Screengrab of the viral post)
The screenshot reads that the government is going to ban Instagram within the next three days due to the ill effects of Instagram on teenagers. Instagram is one of the most populous social media platforms in the world. It has billions of subscribers all over the world.
Is Instagram going to face a ban in India? Let’s fact-check.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found the claim to be false.
We started our investigation by performing a keyword search on the web but could not find any credible media report on the Instagram ban, which is unlikely if the post was legitimate. Instagram is one of the most popular websites owned by Meta. Any news related to its ban in India would have for sure caught the media's attention.
We further scanned the Meta official website to find any leads about the ban but were left empty-handed. There was no mention of any upcoming changes on Instagram.
Moreover, the Instagram application is still available to download on Google Play Store for Android and on Apple App Store for iOS. It is also running properly on mobile phones too.
Lastly, we also found a clarification tweet from the First India News official Twitter handle. The tweet reads, “Screenshot of First India Digital’s breaking news plate is going viral. It is clear that the ‘Breaking News’ plate has been edited.”
Hence, NewsMeter confirms that there is no ban on Instagram in India.
