The News
X on Tuesday temporarily suspended the account of Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The account was back online by 8:30 a.m. E.T. But Navalyana on Telegram said that her account continued to be “shadow banned:” her account did not appear when searching for her handle, and users were unable to see her original post in replies. An X search by Semafor at the time confirmed that users are unable to currently find her account directly on the platform.
The issue was later resolved, with X saying its “defense mechanism against manipulation and spam” accidentally flagged and disabled her account.
“We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error, and will be updating the defense,” the company wrote.
In a video released on her social media accounts on Monday, Navalyana vowed to lead her husband’s resistance efforts and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his death last week.
“I call on you to stand with me” she said. “To share not only grief and endless pain … I ask you to share with me the rage. The fury, anger, hatred for those who dare to kill our future.”
Know More
The shadow ban comes just a day after Navalyana opened her X account.
Accounts of Navalny allies, like spokesperson Kira Yarmysh, appear to have been unaffected.
Navalny, 47, died Friday in an Arctic penal colony, where he had been serving a 19-year prison term.
Global leaders immediately condemned the suspicious death, with U.S. President Joe Biden blaming Putin for silencing his most prominent critic. The Kremlin has rejected allegations that Navalny was assassinated.
Russian authorities said they are conducting an investigation into Navalny’s death and are refusing to immediately return his body to his family while they conduct a “chemical analysis.”