Shadowbanning is happening and communities are definitely messed with on social media.
This is not just about shitposting.
Do not rely on one platform for communicating with people who you would like to stay in touch with.
Will Sam Altman and His AI Kill Us All? The Bulwark May 23, 2025 Karen Hao: “she consistently felt like she was being shadowbanned and when I talked with um researchers and experts about this this particular issue they mentioned you know because she was involved in sex work that that’s how the internet works they use AI systems to track sex workers even in platforms that are completely unrelated to their sex work to limit their distribution”
And do not assume platforms are actually guarding your private data or your private conversations. Frankly, I would get off certain platforms when it comes to organizing around public health, disability, civil rights issues, progressive issues, labor issues, or any type of union organizing.
Musk to Unions: The Nazis Are Coming - How Elon Musk’s DOGE logo is not a dogwhistle, it’s a slap in the face Jim Stewartson Feb 16, 2025 Last week, the man currently rummaging around in our personal information, firing hundreds of thousands of workers, and embarrassing America on the world stage, posted this logo for “DOGE” — an odd cartoonish thing that I originally dismissed. But a friend pointed something out which is very important. Note the golden wheel. Here’s a comparison of the logo and a short clip from a documentary about the Nazis.The German Labour Front was the Nazi replacement for the trade unions that Hitler dissolved completely in 1933. Here was their logo, complete with 14 teeth, the same as the DOGE logo. {emphasis added}
Communities have been, and continue to be, manipulated. This likely won’t get better any time soon. Chloe Humbert Dec 16, 2024 Jay Bhattacharya, of Great Barrington Declaration fame, is Trump’s pick to lead the NIH. People are rightly concerned that he’s going to move us into a Dark Age by squelching research. But this is a person with designs on social engineering. He has signaled that he wants to make up the media landscape and the political landscape in his vision. (And probably that of the Brownstone Institute, which backs him with big money.) {...} But not only that, there was someone who I was shown evidence that they were listed as an NIH contractor in 2021 and who operated on social media as a pro-vax influencer who posted prolific amounts of dubious “vax, unmask, and relax” content - clearly going well beyond promoting vaccination, and actually to exist to calm nerves about going “back to normal” seemingly for the sake of The Economy, or perhaps to at least to calm the public to settle things down. They literally told people in April 2021 that it was absolutely impossible for vaccinated people to transmit the virus to each other, when no such evidence existed at that time nor since. {emphasis added}
Also beware of silos and info cocoons. The third road threat is real.
No social media platform is a safe space – people need to diversify.
I've been saying this for years, that people should not be solely relying on only one social media platform where they say things or publish important information or connect with others. But even among the people who've heard my caution, most have never listened to me. I think mainly because people fall in love with a platform, they are habit forming — they’re designed to keep you there. People like the feedback they get on the social media platform, but not the work involved with actually disseminating information. I can't say I blame people for that, it’s a cognitive weakness that’s being actively exploited by powerful forces after all — but it is a problem.
Facebook is a mess, not that it was ever good. But now it seems like they’re cracking down on opposition to the Musk Trump administration. And I would expect they may go after public health advocates, because anti-vax is a primary platform of the current people in power in the US government - they've said it outright.
The Nerd Reich - Censored on Facebook? The Nerd Reich’s Meta Mystery Is Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, which purports to be a bastion of free speech, censoring criticism of tech zillionaires and their dreams of government control? Gil Duran 13 Mar 2025 This week, a customer service agent from Meta Support provide another explanation: Upon checking, this site focuses on political commentary, particularly involving Silicon Valley tech billionaires and their influence on politics. There are several reasons why a website might be blocked. 1. Content Sensitivity: The site addresses topics like the “Network State” concept and critiques of tech industry figures. Some networks or platforms may flag such content as sensitive or controversial, leading to restrictions.
And it looks like Tiktok made a deal to become another TrumpSocial.
Selling followers where the skies are blue Sketchy follower sales sites are (unsurprisingly) expanding to Bluesky Conspirador Norteño Jan 24, 2025 As Bluesky approaches the 30 million user mark, operators of services that sell bogus social media engagement have been escalating their attempts to take advantage of the relatively new platform’s increasing popularity. Purveyors of bogus follows, likes, and shares require large armies of accounts in order to ply their trade, and these accounts can often be detected by their behavior.
The troll farms and other problems from twitter have fully moved on the watering hole that is bluesky, and it has all the problems there now. But at least they have a block button that works. Bluesky is definitely a far better choice than what Twitter has become. But don’t pick just one hook for your hat, don’t fall in love with a platform, or put all your eggs in one basket.
Further reading:
Yes, shadowbanning is real. It's probably happening on all the platforms, and most people probably don't even know it's happening to them. Chloe Humbert Feb 17, 2025
People are not even talking about the same things and this is dangerous. I don't think most people realize that many times we think we're talking about the same thing, but in fact, we're not actually on the same page with the underlying premise or even basic facts. Chloe Humbert Feb 14, 2025
Don't fail to communicate. Don't Wait For Everybody - Episode 017 Chloe Humbert Feb 10, 2025
Tiktok is dead, long live tiktok. Chloe Humbert Jan 20, 2025
Facebook’s roots are not so hot. But Facebook's tendrils may be ready to set more fires. Chloe Humbert Jan 27, 2025
https://signal.org/