The original account of Ireland’s youngest drag queen has been removed from Instagram after she started investigating the online campaigns of an anti-LGBT+ group. 

Cork based drag queen Kevin Corr, known as Karma when performing, attempted to infiltrate Operation Pridefall, an anti-LGBT+ propaganda campaign led by an anonymous group online. She created Pridefall accounts in order to learn more about their discriminatory mission of harassment and bullying.

The self-described Operation Pridefall planned on flooding online Pride posts throughout June with anti-LGBT+ propaganda and harassment. Members of this group were aiming to set up fake email accounts and repeatedly post homophobic and transphobic content.

As a result of Karma’s infiltration of Operation Pridefall, Instagram permanently removed her primary page on the digital platform. This ban resulted in her losing thousands of followers during a time when drag artists are relying heavily upon social media to connect with the queer community. 

In a press release, Karma described her Instagram account as a “platform to help young queer kids across Ireland and the world.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCoQzSYJ1UN/

Karma’s mother and former press editor Claire Connolly Doyle shared, “Going into the third week, in lockdown, I noticed that Kev/Karma had not been in drag for those same many weeks and I got concerned and asked him about it. He explained about opening a fake Pridefall Account and how he thought that was why his real account was shut down. I didn’t know what to say or do. Kev’s tears are kryptonite to me!”

“Drag is a performance art and he had not only lost his stage he had also lost his platform on which to communicate with friends and young people who look up to him. It wasn’t just his voice that was gone, so was his face, his performance, his alter ego, Karma O’Hara! He had disappeared,” Doyle continued. 

While Karma and his mother tried their hardest to have the Instagram account reinstated, they sadly were not successful. After a month of reaching out to Facebook and Instagram, Ireland’s youngest drag queen took things into her own hands and started the process of rebuilding her online presence. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEFMEQZJ6Mb/

Karma has a brand new Instagram account and is currently working her way back to the original follower count. Since erupting onto the scene at the age of 14, she has been an inspiration for many young drag artists around Ireland to find their confidence and share their art.