BOSTON — City Councilor Gabriela Coletta-Zapata isn’t just taking heat this week — she’s trying to muzzle it.

As her polling-place scandal continues exploding across Boston’s political scene — racking up millions of views since Mass Daily News first broke it on Friday — Coletta-Zapata has now moved to a new phase of crisis management: scrubbing her own Instagram page.

EXCLUSIVE: Boston’s soon-to-be Council President — who has repeatedly voted to shield illegals from ICE — was caught inside an active polling site where candidates are not allowed

Body-cam shows Gabriela Coletta-Zapata berating a police officer who politely told her to leave,… pic.twitter.com/H6wRra8HTg

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) November 15, 2025

One example social media post that was posted by an X account, Unlimited L’s, has exploded on the internet racking up 41,000 likes and 1.3 million views

On Tuesday, she posted a cheerful, polished photo-op inside the City Council Chamber with Councilor Ben Weber and visiting medical students. But the moment followers began pushing back, the comments started disappearing.

Soon, her post showed the unmistakable message: “No comments yet.” A clean slate — too clean.

And it wasn’t just this post. Across her page, a pattern emerged: only glowing praise remains, while any criticism — even mild — has been quietly erased.

This is no glitch. It’s a curated digital makeover at a moment when the real conversation around her is anything but flattering.

Coletta-Zapata is in the middle of a citywide firestorm after bodycam footage showed her inside a polling location on Election Day — despite the clear 150-foot restriction for elected officials. The video has circulated across major accounts on Instagram and X, reaching audiences far outside East Boston.

Instead of addressing the scandal publicly, Coletta-Zapata appears to be airbrushing her social media feed to hide the backlash.

It’s a strategy straight out of crisis-consulting 101:

• When the comments get rough, shut them down.

• When critics get loud, delete them.

• When a scandal explodes, pretend it isn’t happening.

For a councilor aggressively campaigning for Council President — a role that would make her Acting Mayor if Michelle Wu seeks higher office — this is a terrible look. The job demands someone who can face scrutiny and handle criticism from constituents, not delete it. By wiping negative comments during a growing scandal, Coletta-Zapata isn’t projecting strength or transparency — she’s showing that when the pressure hits, she hides.

And while her digital persona shows applause and encouragement, the real Boston conversation shows anything but.

Mass Daily News will continue tracking Coletta-Zapata’s comment deletions — and whether she plans to address the scandal publicly, rather than simply silencing the people reacting to it.