Shadowbanning: Big Tech’s Censorship Problem or Creator Conspiracy Theory?

In this week's episode, we explore the concept of shadowbanning. From politicians to creators, the term is used to explain or excuse an alleged lack of engagement on content or accounts. However, this is also increasingly hard to define or prove. So this week, we look at what shadowbanning is and how it has evolved over the years before diving into some of the most prominent examples of shadowbanning and the ethical implications of this moderation practice. We finish by aiming to answer the question: is shadowbanning a genuine censorship problem for Big Tech, or is it all just a conspiracy theory made up by disgruntled users? Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg  Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/  Join our Geneva home: https://links.geneva.com/invite/7eb23525-9259-4d59-95e3-b9edd35861a5  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitescrollpodcast/  Follow our publication: https://www.instagram.com/centennialworld/  Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/  Follow Jordy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordyn_christensen/  Timestamps: 2:30 What is shadowbanning & its history 10:18 Which platforms have been accused of shadow banning? 27:23 Why do platforms shadow ban? 29:32 Examples of shadow banning `29:43 Political shadow banning 34:01 Shadow banning sex workers 38:58 Creators who have been shadow banned 45:32 Ethical implications of shadow banning 46:54 Is shadow banning a necessary evil? 52:03 The impacts of shadow banning Resources: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/04/social-media-shadowbans-tiktok-twitter/629702/ https://theconversation.com/what-is-shadowbanning-how-do-i-know-if-it-has-happened-to-me-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-192735 https://twitter.com/jackielerm/status/1231122961379340289 https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-ranking-explained/ https://arxiv.org/abs/2012.05101 https://slate.com/technology/2022/12/is-shadowbanning-real-twitter-files.html https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2018/Setting-the-record-straight-on-shadow-banning https://twitter.com/jack/status/1037399156460081152 https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1601352083617505281 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-files-matt-taibbi-bari-weiss-michael-shellenberger-elon-musk/ https://www.wired.com/story/twitter-files-elon-musk-shadowbanning-censorship/ https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/ https://hackinghustling.org/posting-into-the-void-content-moderation https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/19/meta-instagram-palestine-israel-shadowban-censorship-moderation-bias/ https://www.dw.com/en/tiktok-censoring-lgbtq-nazi-terms-in-germany-report/a-61237610 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKMlObOwzkc https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/08/algospeak-tiktok-le-dollar-bean/  https://theconversation.com/what-is-algospeak-inside-the-newest-version-of-linguistic-subterfuge-203460  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/13/business/what-is-shadow-banning.html  https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonytellez/2023/01/31/mascara-unalive-corn-what-common-social-media-algospeak-words-actually-mean/?sh=7a10b1072a08  https://centennialworld.com/julia-fox-apologises-after-misunderstanding-tiktok-slang-for-mascara/  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20563051231194586