Is the algorithm holding your content hostage?

Your favorite creators are gossiping (but not about you). It’s common among creators on TikTok to take to their ‘friends only’ to vent, discuss, and share notes. One of the most popular topics? Their ever-changing relationship with “The Algorithm.” This is seen as a sort of backstage or safe space for creators to talk openly without the audience’s prying eyes. Think of it as the “break room” in a traditional work environment. 

Speaking of, while traditional jobs may not offer the flexibility, perks, and notoriety of a career in ~content~ they are at least supposed to be extremely clear about what they want from you. Typically there’s a job description outlining the role and responsibilities. But content creation doesn’t work like that. Sure you don’t have to work hard but if you don’t you probably aren’t going to succeed. Meanwhile, “The Algorithm” is a laissez-faire supervisor that offers little to no guidance, training, or support. It’s incredibly frustrating.

Imagine if you had to show up to work one day with no instructions and just kind of figure it out. Then, at the end of the month, after hours of work that you may or may not have enjoyed doing, your boss “The Algorithm” bestows a random amount of money on you. The amount is dependent on criteria it won’t explain and you only vaguely understand. That is “The Algorithm” and the reality facing most content creators. It’s not that you don’t have a boss, it’s that your boss is a mysterious black box. 

As such, how to “perform well” in the ever-changing algorithm is a million-dollar question for both brands and creators alike. While brands have the budget to lean on paid boosts, creators are often left to figure it out for themselves through trial and error. 

It’s long been speculated by creators across social platforms that these platforms have the ability to “shadow-ban” creators. Essentially, they allege that the platforms will suppress their content if it doesn’t align with the brand's desired image. While on the surface this may be a practice in place to enforce platform safety and guidelines, human errors and biases seem to have leaked into the processes on TikTok and Instagram. Creators have long speculated that creators of color, creators discussing certain “controversial” topics, and creators speaking ill of the platform are prone to this suppression. 

Elon Musk all but confirmed this with his decree that Twitter would no longer allow users to promote out to other platforms. Those who did would be in violation of guidelines and could be removed. Understandably, users were outraged as that was seen as one of the main use cases for Twitter, to share info from across the internet. 

His announcement has only given more steam to the whispers and rumors in the ‘friends only’ section and among social media managers. Mainly that the platforms are catering their algorithms to boost content they want to see more of and suppressing that which they do not. 

Luckily I grew up with parents who, like The Algorithm, were inconsistent but demanding. So, I have become adept at gathering intel and organizing it into patterns. Plus, based on my own recent success on TikTok, I have more insight into the creator side. In fact, one of my mutuals recently took to her ‘friends only’ to ask if anyone else was experiencing what she was, a sudden and inexplicable drop in views meaning that The Algorithm wasn’t showing her content to as many people as it normally did. I went to her page to see how drastic the drop was and noticed that it came directly after she started talking about Kanye West. At this point, he had just started the very problematic public tirade with his “White Lives Matter” t-shirts. 

I watched her Kanye video and while everything she said was reasonable and not at all controversial, it was about a very controversial topic that TikTok likely didn’t want “blowing up” on its platform. 

There is a larger discussion to be had about the ethics of suppression, and free speech, and where platforms like TikTok and Instagram should draw the line between protecting users and interfering with the content they see. 

For now, we do know that there are certain suspicious trends we’ve noticed that lead to low viewership. Think of these as anecdotal, unconfirmed wives' tales that may or may not be true but are good to consider for social media best practices.  

Your content may be “held hostage” if: 

1. You mention other platforms: Elon made this overt but it's long been a joke that content talking about TikTok on Instagram (or visa versa) is likely to perform worse than other content. For me, I’ve noticed that if I post a TikTok to my Instagram Story it gets way fewer views than if I post a video from my own camera roll.

2. If you mention the given platform disparagingly: Anyone who’s worked on the brand side will tell you: if you ever want to work with a brand someday maybe save your most scathing critiques for the DMs? This is such common knowledge on TikTok that users have taken to censoring themselves if they have anything less than glowing to say about the app. Instead, they will call it “The Clock App,” mumble the name, or say “on here” with inflection. 

3. If you don’t create natively within the app: Similarly to deprioritizing content that mentions other platforms, it seems that TikTok and Instagram reward content that was created within the app. The more in-app features you can use, the more signals you are giving to The Algorithm, the better it can classify your content, and the further it can reach. 

4. If you’re not tapping SFV: Instagram especially is really invested in the success of Reels and creators are heavily suggesting that posting on Reels is one of the key ways to grow on the platform currently. Make sure to use trending sounds and formats as well as create original (in-app) content. No pressure! 

So is the algorithm holding your content hostage? Unless you’ve received a ransom note (or Community Guidelines Violation), no it’s probably not that personal. However, there are some murky unwritten (until now) rules that are faux passe to avoid “shadowbanning” just to be “safe.”   

As I always say, figure out how to use the algorithm or the algorithm will use you. Luckily for me, I don’t depend on my performance in The Algorithm for my income so I can view it from a critical distance. But for full-time creators, this is a very serious and volatile factor in their lives. 

Keep in mind, each platform has its own goals and, even when they try to update creators on those goals, it can feel punishing to keep up. Hopefully, by at least avoiding these common mistakes (that I’ve made a million times) you can figure out your unique secret sauce to go viral, find your community, and have fun.

Megan Collins is a Gen Z expert and Cultural Insights Analyst and a regular contributor to the M.T. Deco Blog.