Hey, everyone, and welcome back to what's trending a show where I, Jennifer added. Toro, unpack the latest in digital culture, so let's get into it. Russia's ban on Instagram comes into full effect today, making the social media platform inaccessible for the majority of the country's population. The country announced plans to ban Instagram last week in response to Facebook temporarily changing its rules to allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russian soldiers following the country's invasion of Ukraine. And while it may be causing a lot of shock, Instagram isn't the first. Russia has been steadily restricting access to online platforms in an effort to control the flow of information about the war, and has already banned both Facebook and Twitter. In response to the ban, Instagram's head, Adam Missouri, tweeted on Friday that Russia's ban would leave 80 million people cut off from one another and from the rest of the world over the weekend. Russian influences on INSTAGRAM posted heartfelt farewells to their followers, encouraging them to follow them on other platforms like telegram or even download VPN software to evade the state's ban. I mean, for Russia to take such extreme measures not only proves how vital social platforms have become for sharing information and how countries are using these restrictions to fight back, but it also puts into perspective the amount of creators that rely on these apps to earn their livelihood.

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