While protections for free speech have begun to improve this year, Big Tech censorship has not let up, with Americans still finding themselves issuing “mayday” alerts as they were silenced or stuck in social media jail in May.
Despite increasing government and media scrutiny, Big Tech refuses to prioritize safeguarding free speech. Even Telegram CEO Pavel Durov found himself silenced by Meta’s Instagram, while YouTube shut down a rapidly growing Canadian channel after an inquiry from taxpayer-funded media. Meanwhile, LinkedIn continued to aggressively control medical discourse and Facebook targeted a religious Christian post. TikTok took aim at dozens of accounts.
Below are the worst censorship cases of May, as recorded in MRC’s unique CensorTrack database.
Instagram inexplicably censored a major tech CEO quoting a famous philosopher. Telegram CEO Durov posted a screenshot on X showing that on May 21, Instagram deleted his photo of a shirtless man with the caption, “‘A man must stand upright, not be kept upright by others,’ —Marcus Aurelius.” Instagram's notification vaguely claimed, “We removed your photo,” because of an alleged violation of the platform’s “Community Standards on dangerous organisations and individuals.” The notification added, “The photo may contain symbols, glorification or support of people and organisations that we define as dangerous.”
Google’s YouTube removed a popular Canadian commentary channel after state-funded media exerted pressure. Canadian taxpayer-funded media outlet CBC bragged on May 23 that YouTube removed the increasingly popular political commentary channel Real Talk Politiks following “inquiries from CBC News's visual investigations team.” The outlet boasted, “the most popular Canada-based news and politics channel during much of the 2025 federal election has been taken down by YouTube.” Real Talk Politiks had garnered 70 million views in April, but following accusations from CBC that the channel was guilty of “‘engagement’ farming,” YouTube terminated the channel. Real Talk Politiks confirmed on X that YouTube removed the channel, insisting, “CBC couldn’t compete with the content… so they tried to erase it. This is censorship in Canada.” The channel owner also posted that he had received no prior strikes or rule violations ahead of the abrupt channel deletion.
Facebook blocked an ad boost on an explicitly Christian, patriotic post. Online media account born2b1 posted a screenshot on May 23 showing that Facebook prevented him from boosting one of his posts. “The Significance of Jesus’ Death and Its Connection to Memorial Day,” read the post’s title. “The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is one of the most pivotal events in Christian theology, encapsulating profound spiritual, redemptive, and transformative accomplishments that resonate through history and into eternity,” the post began. “His sacrifice is not merely a historical moment but a cornerstone of faith, offering salvation, reconciliation, and hope to humanity. As we reflect on Memorial Day, a time to honor…” The rest of the post was not visible. Facebook notified born2b1 that the post could not be boosted because “Your Advertising Access is Restricted” and “You’re not allowed to run ads.”
LinkedIn continued its campaign to censor medical information as it removed a post highlighting the vaccine injury database VAERS. In an X post, Joel Kahn, MD called LinkedIn the “land of censorship.” Along with his accusation, Kahn included a screenshot showing that Microsoft’s LinkedIn deleted one of his posts. “The VAERS database is solid and completely scary. Shut down the vaccine program,” his LinkedIn post, which tagged other doctors, read, according to the screenshot. LinkedIn removed the post and imposed an interstitial over the content that stated: “Only you can see this post because this image or other media doesn’t comply with our Professional Community Policies.”
TikTok crushed free speech on illegal immigration and innocuous reactions. X user Kenneth Rogers shared on X that TikTok deleted his May 5 comment that read, “They came here illegally and need to leave. We don't want criminals in our country.” The platform also censored Jake Freeman when he said, “I want every illegal deported.” These are just two of the many accounts targeted by TikTok censorship in May. X user Kamatheshattered shared a particularly ridiculous example, as TikTok removed the user’s comment consisting only of a clown emoji. MRC logged 24 separate cases of censorship on TikTok for the month of May, illustrating the app’s aversion to free speech as calls continue to ban TikTok.
