Big Brother Naija’s season 4 housemate Tacha has never taken advantage to steal the spotlight, particularly since she was disqualified due to a fight she had with the eventual winner of the competition in 2019.
Every day, something for Anita Natacha Akide (real name) usually graces the trending list of the Twitter hashtag (#). But this was different on Saturday. The trending hashtag about her (#InstagramFreeTacha) was in rebellion against her account’s Instagram shadowban.
Instagram, a social media platform for sharing videos and photos with approximately one billion users each month, is a platform frequently used by most of its fans.
As of this writing, this influencer (aka “Port Harcourt’s first daughter”) has over 1.3 million followers on the platform.
What does Instagram shadowban mean?
Shadowbanning is a regulatory trick used by social engagement platforms to quietly reduce the relevance of a user. You know, the more people can see your post, the greater your influence on any known social network.
When a user is banned completely, he will also know his followers. But in the case of shadowban, only people searching for user content will know. The contents published by said person will be less visible when they are searched by other users.
Instagram Shadowban and how can it affect Tacha?
As previously stated, Instagram is the support platform for Tacha fans. With this type of ban, users of the platform may not be able to discover your hashtags in searches. What about showing up on the scan? Very possible to be marginalized.
Instagram or any social network will never ban without the user having violated their rule. Immediately the violated rule is fixed, the ban will invariably be lifted. However, the algorithm used by this social media platform may be wrong; such as misinterpreting a post as a platform rule violation.
These are some of the reasons why an account can be shadowbanded
Use of prohibited hashtags: One of the secrets to building followers, which is undoubtedly the result of increased exposure, is the use of trending hashtags. However, not all hashtags are in your account and your post.
When a user uses one of the prohibited hashtags that were likely reported on Instagram, the account is considered to be promoting content from the prohibited hashtag. Hence, the need to remove such a post before the shadow ban is lifted.
Third party software: Instagram users tend to use different third-party software, especially to supplement features that are not yet available on the platform, such as scheduling and automatic posting.
There is also third-party software that may involve using bots to grow followers. Softwares like this use the auto comment methodology, auto like to attract potential followers so they can see and probably follow you. These are all violations of Instagram policy.
User Report: Other users can report an influencer or account to Instagram. For example, when content is posted that violates Instagram policy, the platform may investigate and then shadowban the reported account.
Can this affect your brand?
Absolutely! Instagram is your main world, other platforms like Twitter are like your next room. This can significantly affect your influencer business, as customers may demand the use of certain hashtags. In addition, they have their scope and commitment in exchange for the amount charged.
Some comments on Twitter with #InstagramFreeTacha
@Do_yeen_ “No angles at all. We’re tired. Please free @Symply_Tacha from shadowban. His Instagram has been at this for months. Do what is necessary, if not, no angel will be detected ”.
@ ForTachaLove1 “The Titans keep sending tweets, let’s keep pushing and begging Instagram to release our Queen”
@Triciaduquesa “Dear @instagram, what is happening with the account @Symply_Tacha in your application? The account has been banned in the shadows for almost a year. Please, something needs to be done. The owner of that account is a very influential personality. Please show him some respect #InstagramFreeTacha ”.
@AlphaTacha “@Instagram, are you turning a blind eye to us or are you actually blind? Please check what’s stopping our queen @Symply_Tacha’s Instagram followers from growing, she hasn’t gone against your rules and regulations by crying out loud! #InstagramFreeTacha “
Having to be on Instagram is frustrating these days !! .. #InstagramFreeTacha @instagram @mosseri @InstagramComms @facebookapp @Facebook @vishalshahis @fbnewsroom https://t.co/a9RQmra0MX
– TACHA🔱🇳🇬🇬🇭 (@Symply_Tacha) August 8, 2020
Is the Tacha account effectively banned in the shadows?
Literally when an account is banned in the shadow, images attached with an account hashtag will not appear in hashtag feeds when searched by someone who does not follow the shadow account. But, in Tacha’s case, her hashtags were found to still show up in feeds.
A search for the hashtag #FlauntYourAMoment. that you used in your most recent post returned results on the hashtag feed.
A screen like this indicates that your account is not banned by the social media platform. However, there may be other reasons why she is the only one with access to the backend of her account. You may have received a notification from Instagram, but none of them were indicated in the trend.
However, he has contacted Instagram on the matter and is awaiting a response from the Facebook-owned company.
Does Twitter also use shadowban?
In 2018, the controversial president of the United States, Donald Trump, accused Twitter of shadowbanking members of his party (Republicans). Twitter denied the accusation.
The Twitter blog post that clears up the issue reads in part; “People ask us if we follow the ban. We do not. But let’s start with “what is the shadow ban?”
“The best definition we can find is this: deliberately making someone’s content impossible to discover for everyone except the person who posted it, without the original poster knowing.
“We do not overshadow the ban. You can always see the tweets of the accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like going directly to their profile). And we certainly do not follow the ban based on political views or ideology. “
Twitter has resorted to other methods, such as using bookmarked posts. Remember in May, Twitter for the first time did a fact-check on some of Donald Trump’s tweets, citing falsehoods.
The platform also uses suspension to keep your sanity. Users who have their account suspended will know it, as will their followers.
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