The account of “Our Newspaper” on Instagram has become inaccessible to users. The editorial board stated that the block occurred after nearly a month of mass complaints about posts, and also reported that they had contacted the police regarding alleged blackmail.
WHAT HAPPENED
On 25 July, the publication's account on Instagram was suspended. The platform's notification stated that the reason was an alleged violation of intellectual property terms of use.
As a result, according to the editorial board, more than 220,000 subscribers lost access to the news.
WHAT PRECEDED THE BLOCK
According to the editorial board, for nearly a month unknown individuals submitted mass complaints about the publication's posts, citing alleged copyright violations. The editorial board claims that it posted content of its own production and materials provided by readers.
As the editorial board states, an unknown person later demanded $1,000 to stop submitting complaints. After the refusal to pay, the mass complaints continued.
The editorial board reported that it had contacted the police regarding alleged blackmail.
WHAT THE EDITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES SAID
Account manager Konstantin Rashevsky stated that the editorial board had informed Meta in advance about the mass complaints, threats, and alleged blackmail, but the account was still deactivated.
Publisher Sergei Mirolyubov reported that a statement was filed with the Police Department (PD) of Kostanay Region about two weeks ago. According to him, the editorial board is only aware of one procedural action — an interview with an employee.
He also noted that the editorial board does not know whether requests were sent to Telegram, Meta, and other organisations, whether any actions were taken to identify the owners of the accounts from which the demands came, or what measures are being taken to preserve digital evidence. The publisher emphasised that the editorial board is not claiming the police are not doing their work, but that it has not been provided with information about any other actions.
The editorial board has asked law enforcement agencies to officially inform them of the procedural status of the statement, the decision taken, details of the responsible officer, and information about the progress of the investigation.
