Shadow banning is a practice where a user’s content or account is partially or entirely blocked from an online community without their knowledge. This means that while users can still post and interact with the platform, their content becomes invisible or less visible to other users.
Social media platforms often use shadow banning to moderate content and reduce the visibility of spam, inappropriate, or rule-breaking content without directly notifying the user. This can prevent backlash or attempts to circumvent the ban. However, it can also lead to confusion and frustration among users who believe they are unfairly targeted.
This is precisely the case for PlanB, the analyst known for his stock-to-flow Bitcoin model, who recently wrote about the issue.
“X/Twitter throttles my account. Week after week, I gain roughly 2,000 followers daily, towards 1.977 million followers … then overnight BOOM -2,000, back below 1.975 million,” PlanB said.
Raoul Pal, a former hedge fund manager and the founder of Real Vision shared a similar experience. He explained that his account has had 1.045 million followers for several months, and it “never moves.” This stagnation appears to affect crypto influencers, regardless of their content’s quality or engagement level.
Crypto Rand echoed these sentiments, stating that his account has been stuck with 300,000 followers for one and a half years. This prolonged plateau in follower growth is puzzling, particularly for accounts that once saw rapid increases in followers.
Randi Hipper, another influential voice in the crypto space, also expressed her frustration, underscoring the widespread concern among prominent crypto influencers about the impact of shadow banning on their reach and engagement.
