Instagram bans user for posting picture of religious 'boob' cake

Social media censorship has officially gone mad after an Instagram user was banned for innocently posting a picture of a cake, which the social media platform deemed bore too much resemblance to a breast.

Instagram is known for its no female nipple policy but when one user proudly shared a picture of a religious Easter Simnel cake she was left aghast when her account was suspended. The reason seems to point to the marzipan balls on the top of the cake, which Instagram's nudity algorithm must have mistaken for female breasts.

The user's daughter, Fiona Mosely, took to Twitter to describe the ridiculous situation along with a picture of the cake in question, calling the whole cakey kerfuffle #BoobGate.

Instagram might want to open up a few more biology books because the 11 balls, which are meant to represent Jesus and his disciples (minus Judas), are far from being sexually suggestive and do not breach the service's terms of use.

The user was presented with an error message stating her account had been suspended for violating terms and has since appealed the ban but if unsuccessful will lose her images on her account. Her other daughter however also posted a picture of the same cake but from a different angle and it passed the censorship police without a problem.

It's not just Instagram's overly-sensitive bots causing problems as Facebook has difficulty with the name of the Lincolnshire town of Scunthorpe, with users complaining posts are blocked that contain the word. Why? Well, take a closer look and you'll see a particularly naughty word in there. Obviously, it's just an oversight but does social media censorship need to be knocked down a notch?

The #freethenipple hashtag is an ongoing campaign for Instagram to allow female topless photos, claiming to empower women and stand against female censorship as male topless photos are allowed. Mosely has now started a tongue-in-cheek #freethesimnel hashtag to raise awareness.