Shadow banning: The hidden practice shaping your online visibility

Have you heard of the term “shadow banning” before?

The term often circulates on social media when creators believe that the engagement level for their posts does not meet expectations, and that their account has thus been “shadow banned” by the platform in question.

But in fact, the term covers a practice that should be taken a bit more seriously.

Shadow banning limits reach

Shadow banning is a process used by platforms like TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, etc., to reduce the visibility of specific accounts.

This is done with the aim of reducing visibility for content that may have an offensive or harassing nature.

It is a milder way to filter content without the platform being forced to delete the account and/or posts that may have an offensive nature.

If you’re curious to read concrete examples of shadow banning, I recommend this article from The New York Times.

A controversial practice

Shadow banning is often accused of being a controversial practice that can be compared to censorship without due process.

The problem is that the user experiencing their content being shadow banned is not aware that this process has been initiated.

In other words, there is a lack of transparency from the platform that chooses to shadow ban content.

The user, whose content has been reduced in reach and visibility, will not be informed of this but will instead continue to see their own content without problems—while the rest of the world will not be presented with it.

As with all controversies, there are two sides to the story.

One side advocates for limiting harmful and offensive content without getting into major conflicts and debates about what is right and wrong.

The other side advocates for greater transparency around this process and fears it will lead to suppressing opinions and viewpoints without a real explanation behind it.

Do you have an opinion on shadow banning? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!