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UPDATE: Gays Against Groomers Instagram Account Restored After Suspension

The Group Initially Speculated it was 'Highly Unlikely' The Account Would Be Restored

Published: October 25, 2023
  |   By Christopher Bertman

Gays Against Groomers (GAG), an organization that opposes the sexualization of children, has been suspended from Instagram after liberal-leaning groups pressured parent-company Meta to take action against GAG.

GAG’s Instagram account boasted 360,000 followers prior to its suspension, which reportedly follows a pressure campaign by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD and liberal-leaning media watchdog group Media Matters, according to GAG.

“This was a direct attack because of their malicious lies about us,” the group said. “It’s unbelievable that a group like ours who only seeks to protect children and their innocence can be banned for ‘hate speech,’ but here we are.”

GAG has appealed their suspension, though added it was “highly unlikely” the account would be restored.

“We have now been banned by THIRTEEN platforms in a little over a year,” the group wrote in another X post. “We will not be silenced. They haven’t been able to stop us yet and they never will. We’re over the target and it’s clear they’re terrified of our voices speaking out against this evil agenda.”

The group released a statement on their suspension Wednesday morning and expressed “grave concern and disappointment” over Meta’s decision to suspend the group’s account.

“We firmly believe that this move represents an act of censorship, silencing an organization whose sole mission is to protect the innocent and safeguard the vulnerable,” the group wrote.

According to the group, GLAAD, Media Matters, and LGBTQ+ news outlet PinkNews urged Instagram’s parent company to ban GAG over the course of three days.

“These groups have all made the same slanderous claim that we are a hateful anti-LGBTQ group, a claim we fully intend to address with multiple lawsuits,” GAG wrote. “Our mission should only offend the predators and abusers who are using our community as a shield to gain access to children.”

GAG’s suspension follows the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) decision to lift restrictions on the Biden administration’s communications with social media companies allowing them to seek the removal of content across social media to “combat misinformation.”

“The White House was previously severely limited by a lawsuit targeting their efforts to censor material related to elections and Covid 19, but it seems their scope also includes Gays Against Groomers,” GAG’s statement continued. “We recognize that platforms have a responsibility to monitor and regulate content. However, it is of vital importance to distinguish between genuine misinformation and the silencing of groups based on biased or misinformed judgments. We must ask: Who decides what misinformation is? And, more importantly, can these entities be trusted to make unbiased judgments?”

GAG said the organization provides facts and scientific studies to support their arguments to combat claims of misinformation by critics.

“We only expose what we know to be true,” they wrote. “The recent call for censorship from groups such as GLAAD, Media Matters, and PinkNews further raises concerns about the impartiality and fairness of content moderation processes. It is essential to underline that true democratic dialogue involves the inclusion of diverse perspectives and voices.”

The group reiterated their sole mission was the protection of innocent children during their most “vulnerable stages of development in which they cannot protect themselves.”

“The suspension of our account is a homophobic action that hinders our ability to carry out this critical mission and raises concerning questions about the direction in which our digital public squares are headed,” GAG concluded. “We urge META to review its decision, reinstate our account and allow us to continue our mission in peace in the name of our freedom of speech.”

Shortly after the group released their statement, one member who had contact with GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kateellis reached out in a direct message asking her opinion on GAG’s suspension.

“They are an anti-LGBTQ organization,” Kateellis wrote, according to screenshots provided by GAG.

Kateellis reportedly unsent the message shortly afterward.

“Imagine thinking a group comprised completely of people in the community is anti-LGBTQ,” GAG wrote in a follow-up post. “Do these people realize that claiming protecting children is homophobic and transphobic is what’s ACTUALLY anti-LGBTQ and hurting us?? Stop equating us all with pedophiles and groomers!”

GAG released another X post jokingly referring to Instagram as “Instagroom.”

Late last month, GLAAD, PinkNews and Media Matters released articles critical of GAG, referring to the group as anti-LGBTQ and dangerous to the LGBTQ community.

“Right-wing accounts on Meta’s platforms have been able to exploit the company’s policy loopholes, exemptions, and enforcement failures in the following ways to push anti-LGBTQ hate,” Media Matters wrote on Sept. 26. “Meta fails to moderate accounts that repeatedly engage in anti-LGBTQ hate speech and harassment, including the anti-LGBTQ accounts ‘Gays Against Groomers’ and ‘Libs of TikTok.’”

None of the aforementioned groups have commented on GAG’s Instagram suspension as of Wednesday afternoon.

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