Facebook, Instagram handles of Chinar Corps blocked since January 28

Both social media platforms are owned by Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms.

Officials said the handles were blocked from January 28, and no reason was provided. They wrote to Facebook immediately after but the issue is yet to be resolved, the officials said.

It appears to be a “coordinated campaign”, an official said, as there was no unusual activity.

Sources called it part of information warfare, stating that this has happened earlier as well – some social media accounts were blocked last year for a few days. Hinting at Pakistan, they said sometimes the pages might be reported by a large group of people as part of a “coordinated” campaign, which can result in the page being suspended.

The sources also said that neither Facebook nor Instagram had mentioned any specific post by Chinar Corps that violated their rules.

Officials suggested that the content on these two platforms was similar to what they post on Twitter, and was in line with how official content is shared. Each of the post is vetted before being put out, the officials said, and the official handles are careful that nothing objectionable is shared from these handles.