What is Shadow Ban on Twitter? Limiting the distribution & visibility of content explained

Shadow ban (also known as ghost ban) is one of the most discussed aspects of social media platforms. Over the years, a number of users have experienced that their content does not reach the desired amount of users. Shadow banning is an act where a social media portal can partially block a user from their online community. Users do not have a way to know whether they have been shadow banned unless they experience a decrease in their reach.

Twitter, which predominantly is a portal for people to reach millions through limited alphabets, has been criticised in the past over shadow banning. Back in 2018, the company had given out an official statement that they do not limit users from reaching their audience. However, the update in January 2020 terms of the platform subtly state that Twitter does shadow ban its users. 

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Twitter shadow ban explained

Back in July 2018, President Donald Trump had accused Twitter of shadow banning Republican politicians. This had resulted in an outcry on the internet where Twitter was criticised for silencing its users. However, in an official statement, Twitter had cleared the air by stating that it does not shadow ban. An excerpt of the statement has been given below. Users can read the complete statement here.

We do not shadow ban. You are always able to see the tweets from accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like go directly to their profile). And we certainly don’t shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology.

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However, Twitter updated its terms and services in 2020 and subtly confirmed that it does shadow ban users on its platform. The official terms state that the platform may limit distribution or visibility of any content on the platform. While Twitter has been accused of limiting the distribution of content for many users, it won't be the only social media platform to do so. Similar shadow banning has been reported by users on Facebook, Instagram and others. Check out an excerpt from the updated terms of Twitter below - 

We may also remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability to you.

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Image courtesy - official Twitter website

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