X Accused Of Shadow Banning Users Who Criticize Elon Musk
People expect social media to be where everyone’s voice gets heard. But on X (formerly Twitter), criticism of the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, might carry a hidden penalty.
A recent New York Times investigation suggests that accounts calling Musk out have seen their reach quietly slashed - a tactic known as “shadow banning.” Musk has repeatedly championed his platform as the ultimate free-speech sanctuary.
Yet when users point out his positions or decisions, they can suddenly speak into a void. Three right-leaning voices who challenged Musk in December 2024 watched their post views and interactions plummet overnight. They never climbed back to their usual levels, and they’re convinced X’s administrators throttled their content.
Shadow banning happens when an account’s posts are deliberately kept out of other users’ timelines, search results, or recommendation feeds, without notice. Engagement metrics that suddenly collapse are often the first clue. That’s precisely what happened to these critics.
“This is working against the type of environment that he claimed he wanted to build,” said Ari Cohn, lead counsel for technology policy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “Don’t sit here and cloak yourself in the First Amendment and free speech, and then do things like that.”
After criticizing Musk, Loupis’s views plunged from hundreds of thousands to tens.
One of those critics, Anastasia Maria Loupis, runs an account with over a million followers. Her daily view counts used to reach into the high hundreds of thousands.
Then, after she publicly challenged Musk on his proposal to welcome skilled immigrants to the U.S. for work, her impressions plunged into the low tens of thousands. Loupis launched a fresh account to test her theory, and that new profile immediately saw far more interaction than her longtime, established one.
“If he did it to small accounts, nobody would notice,” she pointed out. “But when he starts doing it to really, really big influencers with millions of followers, everybody notices.”
UnsplashLaura Loomer lost her blue check after challenging Musk on immigration and complained X isn’t “free speech”
Laura Loomer, a far-right commentator, ran into the same problem and even lost her verified blue check shortly after sparring with Musk on the immigration question.
“I think it’s wrong to say it’s a free speech platform and then shut off people’s ability to monetize,” Loomer said.None of the affected users received any formal warning or explanation. Their posts stopped appearing where other people would see them. X has remained tight-lipped about the issue; indy100 reached out for comment but had not heard back at publication.
WikipediaCritics argue that shadow banning undermines the very idea of open debate. When users suspect their content is being hidden, trust in the platform erodes. When that practice appears to target specific individuals who criticize the owner, it raises questions about fairness and transparency.
For now, Musk’s insistence on unrestricted speech on his platform has collided with these reports of behind-the-scenes censorship. The tension highlights a broader dilemma for social media companies: balancing free expression with the power to shape - and sometimes limit - the conversation.
