Madonna takes swipe at Instagram censorship by posting nude picture

The singer has criticised the 'hypocrisy' of social media rules

Madonna has taken a swipe at Instagram’s censorship rules by posting a nude picture of herself with a black bar covering her breasts.

The "Living for Love" singer criticised the “hypocrisy” of social media in a provocative post showing all of her body exposed except for her nipples.

The picture was accompanied by the caption: “Why is it ok to show ass but not breasts? Drowning in the hypocrisy of social media.” She added the hashtags #artforfreedom and #unapologeticb**ch.

Instagram has been at the forefront of a #freethenipple’ campaign championed by celebrities including Scout Willis. Willis raised the profile of the campaign when she walked through New York topless in protest at having her Instagram account shut down because of a jumper showing bare breasts.

A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Apr 2, 2015 at 11:03pm PDT

Artist Rupi Kaur recently sparked an international debate on what should be allowed on the site after it removed an image twice for violating community standards.

The picture shows Ms Kaur lying down on a bed fully clothed with two spots of blood visible on her clothes and on the sheet. She challenged the removal and the image was eventually restored on the site.

Instagram's community guidelines state: "Accounts found sharing nudity or mature content will be disabled and your access to Instagram may be discontinued."