Navigating Hate Speech on Social Media: A Personal Account
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Chapter 1: A Viral Moment
In January, I experienced an unexpected surge of attention through a spontaneous video while feeding my hens against the backdrop of a chilly sunrise. While I’ve created various content that has garnered attention, nothing compared to this: the video amassed tens of millions of views, drew in celebrity followers like Big Boi and Mike Epps, and even landed Tiffany Haddish in my DMs, curious about selling our farm products at her market. There was also an interview on the Karen Hunter Show and discussions with Jordan Peele’s production team about a film focused on Black farmers.
Despite all this buzz, it primarily translated into increased sales for my farm collective—my true aspiration is to establish a thriving regenerative poultry business, not to seek celebrity status.
This sudden fame attracted two main groups: Black individuals genuinely interested in farming, inspired by seeing a Black commercial farmer, and a significant number of bigots. The latter came in various forms. The first group, predominantly White, labeled my video as “race baiting” and accused me of having a “victim mentality,” even though I was humorously addressing my struggles with racism and sharing how I navigate these challenges.
Section 1.1: Reactions to My Identity
The second group consisted of Black individuals, particularly followers of Dr. Umar, who expressed outrage upon discovering my spouse is White. This led to bizarre and archaic discussions about "diluting Black blood" and accusations of me allowing a White woman to take advantage of Black wealth, despite the fact that I married into a wealthier family.
As for the Dominican perspective, I’m still trying to fully grasp their responses, which have been extensively documented elsewhere.
Subsection 1.1.1: The Abundance of Bigotry
The White bigots were the most prevalent and aggressive. Many resorted to using the N-word—sometimes with a hard R—without even attempting to disguise it for Instagram filters. This astonished me, especially since, in my previous account that I intentionally deleted, my self-references using the term were flagged and removed. The sheer volume of such comments that now appeared under my posts was shocking.
So, following the protocol, I reported these comments.
In a surprising twist, Instagram consistently informed me that these racial slurs directed at me did not violate their community guidelines. Their advice? Simply block these individuals and move on.
Section 1.2: The Injustice of Censorship
This created an uncomfortable situation, as it offered no deterrent for bigots to continue trolling my account. Many people follow me for my confrontational approach to dealing with trolls; publicly challenging and ridiculing them has proven to be more effective than blocking. However, I typically avoid engaging with those who hurl racial slurs, as they rarely feel shame. Yet, given Instagram’s lack of action, I felt compelled to defend myself.
Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Instagram began to remove comments where I referred to individuals as “White” or described their behavior as “ugly” or “stupid.” Not only were these comments deleted, but I faced restrictions on my account. For nearly two months, I was unable to use Instagram’s Live feature because my account had been flagged for simply responding to hateful comments.
This absurdity led me to create a reel that quickly became my second most popular post.
In this video, I predicted that Instagram would ultimately ban my account for publicly confronting bigots wielding the N-word. Remarkably, 160 days later, that prediction came true.
One Monday morning, I logged into the app at 4:30 AM and discovered that my account, with 447,000 followers, had been suspended for “violating community guidelines.” No specific reason was provided, and it had been a while since I had directly engaged with anyone in the comments section. My last post was a straightforward response to a question related to my book about scale and cost reduction. Thus, I could only deduce that I was being penalized for the violations accumulated while defending myself against racism.
Chapter 2: The Broader Implications
It’s astonishing that Instagram permits users to call me a “n*gger” but prohibits me from labeling them as “idiots.” This trend is not isolated; I received numerous comments from Black and LGBTQ+ individuals who have faced similar censorship while trying to defend themselves from hate speech. This situation highlights a troubling pattern where social media platforms protect racist trolls while silencing marginalized voices, ultimately affecting our livelihoods.
While some have suggested I transition to Black-owned platforms like FanBase, I struggle with the idea of addressing racism through self-segregation. Doing so limits our outreach and influence, and history has shown that successful communities are often not left alone.
This scenario appears to warrant a class action lawsuit.
Please share this essay widely. I am eager to hear from others: have you faced censorship from social media for standing up against racist, homophobic, transphobic, or other forms of bullying? Share your experiences in the comments.
Chris Newman is a farmer and entrepreneur from Virginia, founder of Sylvanaqua Farms, co-founder of Blackbird, and author of First Generation Farming: A Blueprint for Coordinated, Cooperative Agribusiness That Will Keep You on the Land for Generations.