Meta shuts down Instagram account of slain Gaza journalist Anas al-Sharif

Meta has shut down the Instagram account of Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera correspondent who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza in August 2025. The account, which had over two million followers, served as a significant visual archive documenting the humanitarian situation, bombardments, and civilian casualties in northern Gaza.

The reason for the account's removal has not been publicly clarified by Meta. The loss of the profile has sparked concerns regarding the preservation of journalistic archives and Meta’s content moderation policies concerning Palestinian content. While Meta offers a “memorial account” feature on Facebook to freeze pages of deceased users, this mechanism is more limited on Instagram.

Following the shutdown, appeals have been made to restore the page to recover the extensive documentation provided by al-Sharif. His reporting had reached a global audience, including viewers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.