Toronto politician booted from Instagram after platform claims she is an impostor

A Toronto city councillor has had her Instagram account disabled over claims that she is…impersonating herself?

Ward 3 Etobicoke-Lakeshore councillor Amber Morley's Instagram account is currently suspended, and the politician has taken her grievance to Twitter.

Morley, who outshined longtime incumbent Mark Grimes in the 2022 Toronto municipal election, claims that Instagram has removed her account "without providing a meaningful process to appeal the decision."

As an elected official, it's disheartening to see that a process intended to protect our ability to communicate with our residents is so poorly designed that it has the opposite effect.

— Amber Morley (@CllrAmberMorley) July 11, 2023

Journalist-turned-politician and current crisis management firm executive Adam Vaughan chimed in to call out the ridiculousness of the situation.

Pretend no more… you’re a politician. @InstagramComms could always pretend to do research

— Adam Vaughan (@TOAdamVaughan) July 12, 2023

Others have expressed support for Morley and directed anger at Instagram over its handling of the situation.

They are totally messed up on their community standards.

— Eagles Taxi Club (@EAGLESTAXI) July 12, 2023

Instagram's communications department has not replied to Morley's public calls for support via Twitter, and users are sharing tips on why this situation may have unfolded, and how best to resolve it.

Wow. Just wow. Sounds like a large group of people spam reported it. The appeal process at Instagram and FB are horrific. Keep reaching out to them and have yourself confirmed, Amber. Just messy of Instagram.

— Michelle Jones (@maej43) July 11, 2023

One user links the lack of account recovery support with Instagram's parent company Meta's ongoing feud with the Canadian government regarding Bill C-18.

Hello @InstagramComms I know you guys don’t think much of Canadians right now, but your platform is important to citizens of Canada to hear directly from our politicians. Pls rectify this situation.

— NidukDsouza (@NidukDsouza) July 11, 2023

A crackdown on parody accounts — legitimate or otherwise — has also impacted Twitter in recent months, and one Olivia Chow parody account is concerned about its future.

This is not good news, hopefully nobody mistakes me for real Liv.

— Olivia Chow (Parody) (@liv_chow_parody) July 11, 2023

Morley shared a follow-up tweet including her contact information in hopes that someone at Instagram would help her clear up the issue.