Ukhrul, June 20: The editorial team behind Ukhrul Times, one of Northeast India’s most visited digital news outlets, is still coming to terms with the abrupt disappearance of its Instagram account, a platform that had quietly but powerfully become one of its most engaging news distribution tools with over 40,000 followers until it was shut.
The deletion happened without warning, and while the loss of an Instagram account might not rattle a legacy newsroom, for a lean, regional, independent online news portal, rooted in the Manipur, and its hills, it has felt more like an amputation.
“It was not just about metrics or followers,” said the founding editor Ukhrul Times. “It was our digital front porch, a place where the community connected, commented, critiqued, and conversed with us in real time. Losing it meant losing a direct heartbeat to our readers.” The editor added, “Our digital-first strategy approach to news coverage has over the last five years since its inception on May 2020, earned community trust. We are viewed as one of “our own” by our readers and supporters. Our popularity grew because we do not engage in parachute or yellow journalism. Speed and credibility, accuracy, especially during unrest, elections, and human rights crises has been our USP. This also doesn’t mean that we are perfect. We had our moments.”
The exact reason for the takedown remains murky. In a news article titled “Something happened to Ukhrul Times’ Instagram Page; Reconnect With Us on Instagram,” explains how and why Ukhrul Times’ Instagram was “permanently suspended; and how it launched a new handle @ukhrultimes, urging its old followers to reconnect and rebuild.
For a media house that has grown primarily through grassroots credibility, covering everything from armed conflict, unreported news from forsaken Northeast India region, and tribal rights to every news under the sun, our Instagram had, over time, evolved into a visual diary of resistance, resilience, and regional reportage.
“Our stories rarely make it to national headlines,” one of its editor added. “So platforms like Instagram helped level the field. We could bypass algorithms, gatekeepers, and simply speak to people, with honesty and immediacy.”
The loss is compounded by the fact that the deletion came during a critical time in the state’s political and ethnic landscape. Manipur continues to grapple with violence, displacement, and internet blackouts — factors that have only made independent journalism more necessary, and more fragile.
Social media experts say such account losses can be devastating for small, community-driven platforms. “When an outlet like Ukhrul Times loses its handle, it’s not just a technical glitch, it’s a blow to an entire information ecosystem that depends on trust, access, and continuity,” said a digital policy researcher based in Delhi.
Rebuilding is slow, but Ukhrul Times is undeterred. Its new Instagram page is already gaining traction. Stories have resumed. Readers are returning. Comments are trickling in.
“We don’t see it as a full stop,” the team says. “It’s just another chapter. And we’re still here.”
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW | Ukhrul Times Instagram
For now, the hangover of the deletion lingers, but so does the spirit of an digital outlet that continues to report from the margins, for the margins, no matter how many times it’s digitally reset.