Shadowban is a form of content moderation used by social media platforms and digital environments to covertly restrict the visibility of users' content. The key feature of this method is that it keeps the content accessible to the user while limiting its visibility to others. As a result, the user remains unaware that their content's visibility has been reduced or restricted.
The Framework of the Concept
Social media platforms use content moderation methods to control and supervise the content shared by users. Content moderation is a practice that platforms employ to remove, reduce, or limit content that does not comply with their community standards and policies. While doing so, platforms intervene in content deemed to involve hate speech, violent material, fake news, spam, or other violations of community guidelines.
In moderation processes, platforms have begun using algorithmic systems in addition to human moderators. Algorithmic moderation involves the automatic analysis and evaluation of content through artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. These algorithms analyze user interactions, content types, and past moderation decisions to determine which content should have its visibility reduced.
The shadowban practice holds a significant place in algorithmic moderation processes. Through this method, content is not entirely removed, but the visibility of the user's post on the platform is limited by algorithms. This visibility reduction manifests as decreased appearance in recommendations, explore pages, or search results. Since algorithms do not have clear rules regarding which criteria will trigger restrictions, moderation decisions become ambiguous and non-transparent to users.
Types of Shadowban
Search Ban: In this type of shadowban, the content shared by users becomes invisible in the platform’s search results. The user can see their own post from their profile, but others cannot access it through search.
Suggestion Ban: The user's content is excluded from the platform's recommendation systems. It does not appear on the explore page or similar recommendation feeds. Thus, the content can only be viewed by directly visiting the profile, reducing the chance of going viral.
Ghost Ban: In ghost banning, the comments or interactions a user makes on others’ posts are visible only to the user, not to others—or are buried deep in the feed. While the user believes they are engaging, their contributions remain hidden on the platform.
Feed Ban: With this type, the user’s posts either do not appear at all or are shown far down in their followers’ homepage feeds. Even users with large followings may see a decline in engagement due to this restriction.
Hashtag Ban: Users who use certain hashtags may have their content’s visibility reduced. If the hashtags used are considered “inappropriate” or restricted by the platform, the content will be hidden or limited in hashtag searches and pages.
Shadowban and Power Relations
Shadowban is not merely a technical moderation method—it is intertwined with the discourse of media and platform companies, reinforcing and reproducing power relations. By controlling visibility, the practice gains ideological and political dimensions by determining which people and content are highlighted. The way media addresses shadowban affects existing power structures. Media outlets and platform companies legitimize shadowban with non-transparent policies, defining visibility criteria to suit their interests. Thus, how platforms and mainstream media frame shadowban shapes user perceptions and influences the distribution of content in the digital public sphere.
Platform companies often do not openly acknowledge shadowbanning and instead suggest users should focus on improving content quality. This discourse helps platforms avoid scrutiny of their own moderation policies and shifts responsibility onto users' individual performance. Meanwhile, media organizations may emphasize that certain groups are being censored, deepening ideological polarization. For instance, claims that conservative or progressive political content is shadowbanned can become a battleground for political conflict. Thus, shadowban discussions shift from a content moderation issue to part of broader political power struggles.
Another effect of shadowban on power relations is the promotion of individual responsibility discourse, which leads users to believe that they, rather than the platform, are to blame. Platform companies often attribute the invisibility of users' content to low quality or non-compliant interactions. This causes users to look for the reason in their own content quality rather than questioning algorithmic and moderation policies. When users internalize the loss of visibility as their own responsibility, they become less likely to develop a critical stance toward platform policies and instead try to align themselves with algorithmic expectations. Consequently, public accountability and oversight over platforms weakens. This reinforces platform companies’ power, rendering users more passive.
The political implications of shadowban come to the fore especially in debates over freedom of expression and censorship. By holding the power to decide which content is visible, platforms can significantly influence political discourse. Shadowbanning can covertly suppress the spread of certain political views or activist messages, thereby indirectly intervening in political processes. The social and political consequences of shadowban go beyond technical content management and can affect individuals' psychological well-being, economic outcomes, social relationships, and political expression.
Economic Implications of Shadowban
The reduced visibility caused by shadowban practices on social media platforms also carries economic consequences. Especially for influencers and users who earn income through social media, shadowban can lead to financial losses. The influencer economy is a digital marketing method where content creators earn income by promoting products or services for brands through the connection they build with their follower base. The core dynamic of this system is based on visibility, reach, and engagement. Shadowban disrupts these dynamics by preventing or limiting the ability of influencers’ content to reach their audience. Due to decreased visibility, influencers may see performance drops in brand partnerships. This can lead brands to terminate contracts or offer lower payments, weakening influencers' bargaining power for future deals and negatively impacting the economic balance of the digital marketing sector. As a result, influencers may earn less and even lose long-term economic sustainability due to shadowban.
Shadowban also poses economic risks for small businesses and entrepreneurs who sell products through social media. Reduced visibility of promotional posts limits customer reach and negatively affects sales. When shadowbanned content fails to reach the target audience, advertising budgets go to waste. Users do not get the expected return on ad investments, leading to lower revenue and financial losses. Furthermore, businesses whose visibility is restricted experience shrinking customer bases, making it harder to build long-term customer loyalty. Shadowban’s economic effects impact not only influencers but also small-scale digital entrepreneurs, making them dependent on platform content policies and increasing their economic vulnerability.
Social Implications of Shadowban
Today, social media platforms have become arenas where public debates occur, societal issues are discussed, and various social groups express themselves. Shadowban, by enabling platforms to control visibility, can limit the quality and freedom of these public discussions. Especially when contentious topics, activism, or political content are shadowbanned, public debates may become one-sided, reducing dialogue between different social segments. This risks deepening social polarization and weakening public spaces for dialogue and negotiation.
Social media platforms have surpassed traditional media tools by creating a broad and diverse digital public sphere. However, shadowban allows platform companies to determine which content can exist in this space. Content subject to shadowban is typically that which does not align with platform standards or includes controversial topics. Since these processes lack transparency, users cannot question platform policies, nor fully understand why their content is made invisible.
The ambiguity of shadowban fosters a culture of distrust and suspicion among users. The concealment of certain users’ or groups’ content fuels speculation about which voices are being suppressed. This undermines public trust in content management policies and digital platforms overall. In politically polarized societies, speculation surrounding shadowban may increase distrust between groups. This weakens dialogue and mutual understanding in society and contributes to further polarization.
