Sarah Palin Compares Offensive Instagram Post's Removal to 'Lynching'

Sarah Palin criticized Instagram in a Saturday post after the social media platform removed an image she had shared featuring her son that had drawn substantial criticism.

Sharing the removal notice to Instagram, the Republican former vice presidential candidate and ex Alaska governor compared the platform's decision to "lynching."

"CENSORSHIP is to sharing opinions as LYNCHING is to justice!" she wrote.

Palin's original post featured her son Trig, who was born with down syndrome, contrasting the image with one of heroic warrior women. The caption read: "What protestors think we see … what we really see," suggesting that Democrats are acting like bratty children in the wake of conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court. Many social media users took issue with the post, seeing it as a dig at developmentally delayed individuals.

"Why would you compare this to your developmentally delayed son? What is wrong with you?" one commenter complained, according to Yahoo Lifestyle.

"This is a disgrace and demeans all developmentally disabled," another person wrote.

Instagram's removal message explained that the image didn't follow "Community Guidelines." It also warned that Palin's account could be disabled or restricted if she violates the policy again in the future.

"Instagram took down a post of my son Trig acting like a normal kid," Palin wrote, defending herself. "My heart soars when Trig proves he's a 'normal' kid … I can't even explain how it tickles our whole family. But the intolerant powers-that-be, sitting in a seat of judgement, think not? The nauseating, downright evil hypocrisy from their parent company, Facebook, continues," she added, "but only aimed at commonsense conservatives?"

The politician then pointed fingers at former President Barack Obama, pointing to a 2009 incident when he had compared his poor bowling skills to the "Special Olympics" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Obama's comments were seen as offensive to the disabled community, and he promptly apologized.

"They'll censor my post of my most favorite person in the world ... Inexplicable," Palin added. "Unbelievable … And scary."

This was posted by Sarah Palin on her Instagram. The pics at the bottom are of her OWN SON who has Down's Syndrome pic.twitter.com/a04qdAcFZn

— Ani Sangye 💛⚖💛 (@SangyeH) October 12, 2018

While some were offended by Palin's post, the former governor has been a strong supporter of the down syndrome community in the past. In particular, she has staunchly criticized the trend of women choosing to have an abortion instead of giving birth to a baby with the disability.

In August of last year, she strongly criticized a report that showed Iceland was "close to eradicating down syndrome" through genetic screenings and abortions. Two years earlier, she supported legislation that would make abortions illegal when the parent's decision was based on the genetic disorder.

"I don't think because the child has one extra chromosome they should be able to snuff that life out," she told CNN at the time. Referencing her own son, Palin explained: "There is some fear there of the unknown. Certainly, there was fear in my heart about how in the world are we going to be able to handle the challenges up ahead, not necessarily thinking of the beauty that could come from a child being different, being unique."

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About the writer


Jason Lemon is a Weekend Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused on ... Read more

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