Erin Napier, a beloved figure from HGTV, is facing challenges in her latest mission. Alongside her husband and “Home Town” co-star, Ben Napier, Erin has embarked on a campaign to encourage parents to keep their children off social media until they’ve finished high school—a commitment they’ve made for their own daughters, six-year-old Helen and two-and-a-half-year-old Mae.
However, Erin has encountered obstacles in promoting their upcoming event, the Old School Festival, set to take place in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, on March 9, 2024. Speaking to People, Erin expressed frustration with social media platforms, particularly Instagram where she boasts 1.5 million followers, claiming that these platforms have hindered their efforts to reach a broader audience with information about the festival, their initiative, and their concerns about the potential dangers of social media for kids.
Erin is not alone in experiencing these difficulties. Egypt Sherrod of “Married to Real Estate” has also reported problems, such as increased hacking and post suppression on her social media accounts, particularly after a controversial post in 2022. This has raised concerns among HGTV personalities about the broader implications of social media engagement.
Erin Napier Says It’s ‘Disturbing’ That Social Media Posts Aren’t Reaching More People
Erin and Ben Napier launched Project Osprey, which stands for “Old School Parents Raising Engaged Youth,” on August 1. This initiative aims to unite families dedicated to keeping their children off social media, encapsulated by the tagline “growing social kids without social media.”
“Research tells us social media is as addictive and destructive for developing brains as any drug,” Erin shared on Instagram. “Creating a supportive circle of families and friends committed to this cause when your kids are young, and working together to provide a social media-free adolescence, is the only way to change the culture.”
In the first few weeks, over 20,000 people subscribed to the Osprey newsletter, prompting Erin and Ben to organize an “Old School Festival” on March 9. This event will feature expert speeches and family workshops on activities such as woodworking, gardening, art, and music.
Although Erin announced on February 23 that they were “almost sold out,” tickets were still available a week later. Erin attributes this to Instagram’s algorithm, which she believes has intentionally limited the reach of their festival-related posts.
“It gets suppressed,” she told People. “Posts get a tiny fraction of the views that my usual posts do, which is disturbing. I think social media should be the adult town square for sharing information. But if you’re only able to share selective information, that’s scary.”
While only account owners can see the exact number of views their Instagram posts receive, the graphic for the Napiers’ upcoming festival garnered around 2,600 “likes.” In contrast, Erin’s other recent posts typically receive eight to ten times that level of engagement.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), the discrepancy is much smaller. The same post on X had over 10,000 views and 131 likes as of March 1, comparable to Erin’s usual engagement on the platform.
HGTV Star Egypt Sherrod Thinks Her Social Media Posts Have Also Been Suppressed & Hacked
Lately, the issue of “suppression” on social media has been widely debated, especially around Meta — the conglomerate behind Instagram and Facebook — which has been criticized for allegedly “demoting” or failing to share posts that conflict with its norms or values.
In an October report, the New York Times highlighted grievances from thousands of pro-Palestinian users who felt their content was being censored amidst the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas conflict. Similarly, Dove has challenged what it perceives as “social media censorship” of posts that feature women’s faces and bodies deviating from conventional beauty standards, arguing that platforms often “demote” or delete posts based on factors like skin color, size, or disability.
Erin Napier’s HGTV co-star, Egypt Sherrod, has encountered similar challenges. Following a since-removed Instagram video posted in December 2022, which she claimed showed evidence of human trafficking at a gas station, as reported by Black Enterprise, she has faced ongoing issues. After sharing the video to alert her followers, Sherrod reported being targeted by hackers and experiencing ongoing suppression of her posts by social media platforms.
On January 11, while promoting the new season of “Married to Real Estate,” Sherrod stated, “Instagram is shamelessly suppressing all my posts. But I am going to try to get this out to you anyway….” By February 13, she detailed further troubles in a video, saying, “I have been under cyber attack ever since I reported that sex trafficking instance months ago. It’s been ridiculous. Fake accounts popping up, fake websites appearing, my content being stolen. We’ve been dealing with all sorts of copyright and trademark issues since then. I’m clearly under attack and somebody does not want me notifying folks or bringing attention to trafficking.”
Meta’s current guidelines, as noted by the Washington Post, prohibit attacks based on race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation and allow the removal of content spreading “harmful stereotypes.” In response to the scrutiny, the social media giant clarified in a statement, “We want to reiterate that our policies are designed to give everyone a voice while keeping people safe on our apps. We apply these policies regardless of who is posting or their personal beliefs, and it is never our intention to suppress any community or viewpoint.”
