The network received the post and refused it for a specific reason that is not spam. The two common causes are a tagged or collaborating account that does not accept invites, and a post built in a way the network does not support. Both are fixed by editing the post and publishing again.
What happened
The post reached the network. The network read it, found something it would not accept, and refused the whole post. Nothing was published, so there is no half-finished post on your page.
The network gave a definite answer, so CivAll does not send the post again on its own. It stays failed until someone changes the post and publishes it again.
A tagged or collaborating account blocked the post
This is the most common version on Instagram. A tagged or collaborating account's privacy settings do not allow invites from your account, so Instagram rejected the whole post rather than publishing it without the invite.
A few things about this are worth knowing:
- The setting belongs to the other account, not to yours. You cannot change it, and reconnecting your own account will not help.
- It happens most often with private accounts, personal accounts, and accounts that have turned off tags or collaboration invites from people they do not follow.
- Instagram refuses the entire post. One blocked invite is enough to stop the whole thing.
To fix it, remove that collaborator or tag from the post, then publish again. If you still want to credit the other account, name them in the caption text instead. If the collaboration matters, ask the other account's owner to allow invites from your account, then add the invite back on a later post.
The post is built in a way the network does not support
The other common cause is a post that combines things one network will not accept together, even though the same post is fine elsewhere. Networks differ in what a single post may contain, and a post assembled for one network can be refused by another.
When this happens, the failure message says the network does not support something in the post as it is built. Read the message first, because it points at the part to change.
What to do:
- Take out the element the message names and publish again.
- If you need that element, tailor the post per network. The composer lets you write different copy and attach different media for each network on the same post, so you can keep the full version where it works and simplify it where it does not. See The composer & publishing options.
- If the element cannot be simplified, publish that network's version as its own post.
If the message is about the video, image, or file itself, such as its length, size, or format, read Publishing failed: the media was rejected instead. That article covers file problems in detail.
The network refused the post as a duplicate
LinkedIn, X, and Facebook can refuse a post whose text matches one the account has already published. The failure message says the network rejected the post as a duplicate of one already published. Change the wording, then publish again.
What this failure is not
It is not a connection problem. The network answered, which means your account is connected and the request got through. Reconnecting will not change the answer.
It is not a rate limit. Waiting will not help, because the same post will be refused the same way in an hour.
It is not a spam decision. Spam flagging is a general judgement about the post looking like bulk messaging, and it often clears on its own after a change of wording. This failure names something specific in the post. If your message mentions spam, read Publishing failed: the network flagged the post as spam.
If the message is about what your account is allowed to do rather than about the post, read Publishing failed: check the account permissions.
If the reason is not clear
The message on a failed post is written in plain language. When the network sent its own wording, a Details link under the message on the Publishing dashboard shows that text, with a button to copy it. The network's full raw response is not shown in the app. Support can see that raw response.
If you cannot tell what to change, contact support with the account, the date and time of the attempt, and the text of the post. That is enough to look up the exact reason the network gave.