TikTok is suppressing LGBT content in Eastern Europe and the Middle East

 | 
09/08/2020

Try searching for hashtags related to LGBT issues in countries like Russia, Bosnia, and Jordan on TikTok and you might find no results, even if you were able to see it on a friend’s post. That’s because the app is now shadow banning such hashtags, including the word “gay” in languages including Russian (гей), Arabic (الجنس_مثلي), and Bosnian (gej), according to findings in a new report released by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank. Hashtags like “#transgender” in Arabic (#جنسي المتحول) and #I am a gay/lesbian” in Russian (#ягей/#ялесбиянка) are also suppressed. Shadow banning refers to a way of censorship whereby social media companies reduce the visibility of particular content or even stop content from being seen by other users without the uploader being aware of the ban, as opposed to a blanket ban.

Share this:

Latest Global News

Added on: 11/14/2024
11/13/2024
Ugandan activist Clare Byarugaba told a packed audience in New York that she is not giving up the fight against anti-LGBTIQ laws despite constant …
Added on: 11/14/2024
11/12/2024
Thousands of opposition supporters rallied Monday in Georgia’s capital in continuing protests against the ruling party’s declared victory in the Oct. 26 parliamentary election …
Added on: 11/14/2024
11/13/2024
LGBTQIA+ survivors have come together to share their stories in The Loud Way Home, an anthology of experiences of domestic, family, and sexual violence. …

Explore LGBTQ+ Issues

Added on: 11/14/2024
Thousands of opposition supporters rallied Monday in Georgia’s capital in continuing protests against the ruling party’s declared victory in the Oct. 26 parliamentary election …
Added on: 11/12/2024
An unnamed 22-year-old woman who owns a gay club that was raided by police in the Siberian city of Chita has been placed under …
Added on: 11/12/2024
Some Canadian surrogates are refusing to carry children for Israeli clients in light of the Gaza war, a standstill disproportionately impacting gay men. The …