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The far-right conservative advocacy group, Republicans for National Renewal, has accused Instagram of censorship amid a scuffle with the social network over the group's banned account.

The group posted a message to its official Twitter account March 14, stating that it had been "permanently banned" from Instagram, supposedly on the grounds that it was believed to be a fake account. Furthermore, the group claimed that the platform has all but completely limited its ability to appeal the decision.

Republicans for National Renewal was founded by attorney Mark Ivanyo in early 2020 in the wake of that year's Conservative Political Action Conference and in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. A Mother Jones report from the time described it as a "group of far-right activists" advocating for the mainstream Republican Party to more firmly "embrace national populism." Other reports described it more generally as friendly to former President Donald Trump and in favor of "nationalist and populist" political ideologies.

"We have been permanently banned from [Instagram], not for anything we said on there, but for supposedly being a fake account," the group tweeted. "We're not allowed to appeal, as IG doesn't even allow the request to be processed. This is disgraceful censorship."

As of Tuesday, Instagram has not commented on the matter and the account remains inaccessible. The group has maintained a presence on other platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, with the latter operated by Meta, which also owns Instagram, muddying the group's claims of censorship.

Newsweek has reached out to Republicans for National Renewal and Instagram via email for comment.

On its official website, the group centers its message and goals explicitly around Trump, claiming that he "stands largely alone in advocating a bold, populist vision for our country."

"Years after Donald Trump's groundbreaking 2016 victory, we have yet to see the fundamental change within the Republican Party that we need in order to truly reflect the will of the voters," the group's official website states. "On issues from immigration to infrastructure, Trump stands largely alone in advocating a bold, populist vision for our country. It is time to change that. By assisting activists in taking over the party apparatus and pushing Republicans in Congress to back our President's agenda, Republicans for National Renewal intends to be at the forefront of that fight."

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The group's advocacy largely comes in the form of endorsing candidates for political office. On Sunday, it officially endorsed Trump in the 2024 presidential race, shortly after rumors began to emerge that he would soon be indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Over the years, events hosted by the GOP activist group have been attended by numerous far-right Republicans, including Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, Matt Gaetz, Kari Lake and Blake Masters.

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Far-Right Republican Group Sounds Censorship Alarm Over Instagram Ban - Newsweek