Fergus Cooper

Medium: Acrylic, ink & pastel on paper

Censored by: Instagram

Was there a notification of removal or downranking, and if so what was the reason given?: Yes - sexually explicit or suggestive content. There was no notification but I am used to Instagram doing this to me now so I continually manually check my account status.

What date was your artwork removed or downranked?: December 29, 2024

Were you given an opportunity to appeal? If so, did you appeal, and if so, what was the response?: Yes - I did and the restriction was lifted after a few days

What consequences have you faced as a result of the downranking or removal? Please describe in detail: My work is continually flagged. I don’t believe I have broken any guidelines - I have posted drawings of nudes, but my work is not ‘photo realistic’ and these are clearly drawings. Instagram doesn’t remove the work, but it restricts my account so it can only be shown to followers. This kind of window to the world is essential to artists and restricting me like this is cutting off a part of my business. On this particular occasion I was running an ad on a different post - so Instagram was taking my money to push my account whilst simultaneously suppressing my account

Please write any additional comments: These account restrictions happen to me all the time. I continually appeal and they continually get removed. As well as being detrimental to my practice it’s very draining and time consuming. Personally I feel this kind of censorship is targeted towards queer accounts.

Website: http://Www.ferguscooper.com

Instagram: http://@fergcooper