When Truth-Tellers Go Silent: TikTok's Convenient 'Bans'
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that Bisan Owda, a Palestinian journalist documenting the genocide in Gaza, had her TikTok account, with over 3 million followers, inexplicably banned. The article notes the timing coincides with intense US legislative pressure to ban or force a sale of TikTok, as well as comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding control over social media
narratives. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This isn't the first time powerful entities have attempted to control narratives during conflict. In 2003, mainstream media outlets, notably *The New York Times* and *The Washington Post*, amplified fabricated claims of WMDs in Iraq, leading to a war that killed over 1 million people. The media's role in manufacturing consent for war
is deeply documented. Faster forward to 2011, Gaddafi's Libya faced Western intervention after a campaign of misinformation, destroying one of Africa's most prosperous nations and leading to today's slave markets. Double Standard: While platforms like TikTok are quick to ban accounts like Owda's, which provide on-the-ground, often graphic, but accurate depictions of suffering in Gaza, they show
remarkable lenience towards content that promotes Israeli military actions or even hate speech against Palestinians. Furthermore, Western governments routinely condemn 'censorship' in countries like China or Russia, yet push for the outright ban of a platform like TikTok in the US, explicitly citing content related to Gaza as a concern. The US has openly used its state department to push