After the back-to-back torrent of white supremacist violence between last summer and now, Black youth have been using TikTok to talk about anti-Black violence. #AbolishThePolice gained massive traction after the death of Ma’Khia Bryant and the Derek Chauvin trial. Then the hashtag just disappeared off the app! What happened?
The hashtag didn’t reappear until several days later, when The Daily Dot pressed TikTok to explain. They didn’t, for the record. But, it’s not just hashtags that disappear – many Black creators say THEY’VE been removed, too.
“You post TikToks advocating for human rights for 2 days and you get banned for a week,” creator Malik El-Amin said. “...[F]rom our dances to ... our sayings or dialects … everything is just copied and commodified. And then as soon as we have an opinion about not being shot or killed, we’re discredited.”
This actually isn’t unique to TikTok. Black people on Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn have found their content “mysteriously” removed when they talk about police brutality. Meanwhile, white supremacists plan violent attacks on these apps, while reporting BLACK creators for hate speech!
From social media bans to new anti-protest laws, Black people are frequently silenced for exposing the truth. But, no matter what obstacles white supremacy puts up, we must continue to challenge the violent, anti-Black police system. They can't silence all of us!