Imgur now blocks several VPNs and have issues loading embedded previews in several fediverse platforms. So instead of using imgur, you could use one of the following alternatives for uploading your images.
https://postimages.org/
https://imgbox.com/
https://imgbb.com/
https://www.imagebam.com/
Any thoughts about uploading images straight to lemmy.world vs using these sites to host? Is either option vulnerable to takedowns?
Lemmy instances have quite small size limits compared to other services. And all of them are vulnerable to DMCA takedowns as they have to comply with the laws of the host country, but unless you plan on hosting CSAM you are good with either choice.
But all have a good track record for keeping images online without deleting.
Images could eat up the server resources of your instance. Using a third-party service reduces the burden on them.
Anything that you don’t host yourself are vulnerable to takedowns. But as someone who has been using postimages.org for many years now, I have never had any such issue with them, and haven’t heard of anyone else facing them as well. The other three services I linked also have a good reputation as reliable services.