Cult venue faces uphill battle after ‘confusing’ social media ban
A potential US court battle looms after a popular West End nightclub had its Instagram account mysteriously disabled.
Ancient World on Hindley Street is facing an uphill battle to get its primary social media promotion account on Instagram restored after it was suspended for an unknown reason.
Venue co-owner Hugh Scobie tells CityMag that both his personal and Ancient World Instagram accounts, used to promote the business, were flagged for “breaching a code of conduct”.
“It didn’t say what I had done or point to anything I had posted, it just said that it had been flagged and it needed to review my identity,” Hugh says.
“They asked for me to take a photo of my ID and then do a what’s called a video selfie, and it takes a picture of your face.
“Five minutes later I got another notification saying the review had found that my account had breached the community standards on account integrity, and as a result my accounts had been permanently disabled.”
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Hugh says he was told there was no way to contact Instagram to review the decision, with the company now primarily using AI to enforce account suspensions and reviews.
A petition was started in 2025 after thousands of people around the world faced a similar issue with accounts being banned for unknown reasons.
The now-closed petition gained more than 65,000 signatures and was aimed at bringing “global visibility to an issue affecting thousands of people worldwide” and “holding Meta to account”.
“It seems like the use of AI in these reviews and these decisions has become more problematic, with a lot of people getting locked out and then going through these processes that can take months to resolve,” Hugh says.
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The ongoing social media battle could find its way to a US court, after Hugh secured an attorney in America who will draft a letter to Meta to have the decision reviewed.
The venue owner tells CityMag the Instagram page is a “very important” piece in promoting the business and is vital in supporting local and emerging artists.
“We use it on a more than weekly basis to announce the shows that are on, to promote upcoming shows, to share the things that other artists and people who are performing at the venue are doing,” he says.
“The artists can still use their Instagram to tell people what’s going on, but the central hub, which is the club’s account, is now inaccessible.”
Ancient World has been a staple in Adelaide’s live music, experimental performance, and cultural event sphere since its inception back in 2014.
It has navigated and survived a series of economic pressures including the COVID-19 global pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis.
“We’re able to run things pretty lean, and we have a very loyal community following so we are navigating the economic climate relatively well at the moment,” Hugh says.
“But this is just another issue that I feel like I don’t really know how to deal with it, or what we’ve done wrong, and it’s confusing and upsetting.”
Ancient World’s upcoming events can be found on the main website and Facebook page, with Hugh saying the “best way to support” is to visit the club on weekends.
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