It's a real effect. I got blocked from following Brian Krebs because someone (on a different server) said someone else couldn't be a Nazi because they were black, I said being black doesn't disqualify someone from being a Nazi, and someone on Brian Krebs's server reported it as racism.
I only got this reversed two months later by making my own account on Brian Krebs's server and calling out the admin in a public toot on that server.
He is, and I was. You cannot follow people who are on a server that has blocked your server. Your follow request will be ignored, and his new toots will not be delivered to your server. If you were already following him, this follow relationship is deleted on his end, his server will deliver an unfollow notification, and then will not deliver his new toots to your server.
You can still view his profile on his server using a web browser, which is not the same as following him.
I'm talking about Mastodon. Yes, I could also just go to his profile page on a web browser. I could also turn my screen off and go outside. I could also ask someone else what he said. Or read his blog. You're obviously missing the point.
I only got this reversed two months later by making my own account on Brian Krebs's server and calling out the admin in a public toot on that server.