banned

Shadow banned?

Posted on by backuphill

Photo by George Becker on Pexels.com

Anyone else kinda feel like when they talk about certain topics that they are getting shadow banned? I am starting to get a bit suspicious of WordPress.

For those who don’t know what a “shadow ban” is, you can read more about it in lots of different places. You hear about this taking place on lots of different social media platforms & accounts these days – mostly in regards to topics related to events, facts, data, and personalities of significance over the last 2+ years.

I don’t know if there is a way to really tell on the WP service, but I have noticed that certain topics definitely get fewer clicks/views than other topics. Maybe it’s because people are bored with the topics. Maybe people aren’t stimulated by certain subjects any longer. Maybe people are just to overly apathetic so the disinterest wins out. I don’t know.

Could it be the Categories I am using, or the tags? Is it the actual subject matter? I haven’t a clue. I guess I could try reposting a blog with different tags and categories and see if there is any different response.

Anyone else feel like they don’t get as much interest when it comes to certain “controversial” issues?

Social (and media) double standard

Posted on by backuphill

I am sure you’ve seen it. You’re probably wondering how in the hell it can only cut one way…

People losing their jobs. Reputations ruined. Companies destroyed. Stocks punished. TV shows cancelled. Public apologies issued.

The media chirps about this or that, a perceived injustice or slight. Social media ablaze with trolls who spout hatred and stir fear. Both seeking “justice” but really only picking and choosing certain things to make an issue of.

Some seem to get a free pass and others are vilified. Some communities cry foul over language used by others, but then use the language they just condemned themselves.

Instagram supposedly has “community standards” but they appear to be subjective as some hate is singled out and some hate is not. Some language is banned and some is not. How can it be ok for some but not others?

If you’re gonna eliminate the problem, there can’t be a double standard. Otherwise, the problem will always exist. I have always been a proponent of free speech and I always will be, but it is frustrating to see that the freedom only goes in one direction. There is no scorn over the posts above, instead they continue to gain followers.

What do you think? Should the accounts above be given a free pass for the language they use or held accountable like the rest of society?