'Squid Game' claims a social media victim with Instagram's help

There's the good kind of attention, and then there's the bad kind of attention.

Twitch streamer and Yogscast member Lydia Ellery found that out the hard way on Thursday when she says her Instagram account was removed without warning. The apparent cause? Her long-owned handle shared a name with the popular Netflix series, Squid Game.

Yup, she said she'd had the @SquidGame account "for years." However, as of Oct. 9, a visit to that Instagram page turns up the following message: "The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed."

And Ellery is pretty sure she knows what happened.

"Ermm I think so many people have been trying to log into my account or reporting it (squidgame) that instagram have banned me," she wrote on Oct. 7. "I've applied for it to be reviewed and have to wait 24 hours for their decision."

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"I was being inundated with messages from fans from the show but now Instagram have completely blocked me from using it," she added on Oct. 8.

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It's not clear if fans of the Netflix show mass reported Ellery's account in an attempt to get it banned from Instagram, or if Instagram pulled it without fan provocation.

By Sunday, Oct. 10, Ellery's account had been restored. Responding to a Twitter DM from Mashable, she wrote: "It's still a problem sharing the [same] name as the show — I get endless messages from the fans who are angry that I have the account as they think the show [or] a fan account should have it. Some have been abusive and lots [are] trying to buy the account from me."

But, Ellery added, "Squid Game has been my brand for over 10 years and streaming is my full time job (my Twitch is also named SquidGame), so it's been a bit of a nightmare."

We also reached out to Facebook-owned Instagram as well as Netflix about the apparent removal, but received no immediate response.

This is not the first time that an Instagram handle with a popular or auspicious name has landed its owner in digital trouble. In 2019, Instagram took a man's account, apparently without warning, because it suited members of the British Royal family.

SEE ALSO: Facebook strips its name from its own VR platform. Gee, wonder why.

That 2019 incident may have been frustrating, but Ellery's loss of the @SquidGame Instagram handle represents something larger, even with her account now restored. It's painful reminder that the social media platforms streamers rely on to earn a living don't really belong to them.

UPDATE: Oct. 10, 2021, 2:01 p.m. EDT This post has been updated following Ellery's response to a Mashable request for comment, and the news that her account has been restored.