I used to think the 'shadowban' thing on social media was just people being paranoid.

But after I posted a video of a tricky drainage fix I did in Austin last month, my views dropped from my usual 500 average to like 12... and stayed there for two weeks. I didn't change anything I was doing, so now I'm convinced the platform's algorithm just decided to hide my stuff. Has anyone else had a post just completely vanish for no clear reason?

4 comments

4 Comments

reese_bennett251mo ago

Saw a tech article last week that broke down how these algorithms work. They said sometimes a single word or sound in your audio can trigger a filter, like if your background music matches a copyrighted track. Your drainage video might have had a passing siren or a radio playing. The system flags it, shoves your content to the bottom of the pile, and never tells you why. It's not really a shadowban, more like a dumb automated mistake that tanks your reach.

wade8711mo ago

But that's giving the platform too much credit, reese_bennett25. If a siren can tank a video, then the system is broken by design, not just making a mistake. They built it that way on purpose to avoid any legal risk, even if it hurts creators. Calling it a "dumb mistake" lets them off the hook for a choice they made.

sage3081mo ago

Ugh, my cat meowing got a video flagged once.

oliverhernandez4d ago

Wait, so a cat meow can actually set off the copyright bots? That's completely wild. It means the system is basically guessing at random sounds and punishing people for it. You're right, that's not a mistake, it's a choice to let a broken algorithm run everything. Feels like they just don't care if real content gets caught in the net.