Instagram mysteriously bans Pokémon content creators

Several large Pokémon content creators have been banned on Instagram, with no reason given for the ban.

The issue was first highlighted in the Pokémon Trading Card Game community, which saw many of the largest creators receive messages that their Instagram account was on hold.

Then, several creators reported that their accounts had been banned permanently. In a strange twist, a few creators were able to regain their accounts simply by logging in and verifying their information, but others were seemingly permanently banned when they tried to appeal the decision.

Prominent content creator PokeRev (real name Nick) posted to his YouTube channel that despite falling victim to these random bans, he was able to get his account back.

However, other creators, such as PokiChloe and PokeDean, could not recover their accounts. The creators have reportedly reached out to Instagram’s parent company Meta, however, a reason for the deletions was not provided.

It’s been speculated that some of the hashtags that the users were using in posts could have contributed to the ban or some of the links that the creators featured in their bio.

The creators that have been banned are all family-friendly. However, several of those banned often promote third-party storefronts.

Interestingly, several of the accounts that were banned have previously worked with The Pokemon Company at events, and have been invited as guests to The Pokemon World Championships in the past, so it doesn’t appear to be an issue with TPC, rather the issue seems to be with Instagram.