Banned on TikTok

Yup, I don’t know what it is I say or do over on that app, but I have been banned.  No warnings, no violations, no account notices… nothing, just logged in and a thing pops up informing me that “your account has been banned”.  Um? Also, would you like to appeal?  Yeah, because what??? Oh… right, click the appeal link and the whole thing disappears, and you can’t actually do that.

Before, when TikTok was still owned by its owners, I would get multiple violations for things that simply weren’t true, like violations for “nudity”.  I would get that one several times, but it was obviously not true. Then they started to take my videos down.  This was after the US announced it wanted to ste… take it.  Not sure how many people were flagged for nudity while fully clothed, but something tells me there were probably a lot.

Pay Per Views

Did they ban me because I wouldn’t pay for views? Now, when I first started my new account, I was hesitant because the last account from a couple of years back left a sour taste in my mouth, but because I really wanted to share my art process videos in hopes of gaining some visibility, I reluctantly made another account.

I have only had the account since February, but long story short, the more I posted, the less views I got.  The bad advice from the internet and world of socials said that consistency is key.  Of all the advice, I figured that one sounded most reasonable because it seemed logical.  If you constantly post, you will eventually increase your reach over time, slow as it may be, and eventually, you will have gained visibility.

So imagine my surprise that after I started to post consistently, my views went from bad 200-400 to less than 100.  And no, I am not a spam artist.  I would maybe post once a day.

Get Seen for only $$

After every post, I would get that little red button at the bottom that said “Spend $30 get 5489 views”.  Each time I rejected the offer, the spend amount would go up, but the promised views wouldn’t increase much.

And so on and so forth.  I think the last one I got was spend $130 and get 11k views. Haha, nah, thanks.

Did I accidentally slip through the cracks?

Essentially, the account was dead; views were stuck at less than 50 but more like 30.  Then suddenly there were comments and views coming in like I might have organically slipped through the cracks of their pay-per-view system, and then I got banned.

Was it something I said?

Tricks by Sandra Rinck

I don’t use social media to go about talking shit about everything I don’t like, but every now and again I do say something when something should be said. For instance, I left a comment on an independent journalist video regarding a certain type of government doing certain types of fascists things.

Basically, I called them the “American cartel”.  I mean, if it acts like one, works like one, speaks like one… well, then it is.  Perhaps there were other words I could have used, but I thought that one pretty much nailed it.

Maybe it was this particular piece?

Tricks… What’s there not to love about art?  You can say so much without saying much of anything at all.  I did have a feeling this would not go over well with the overlords, but I guess that’s the nature of art and rebellion.

Thus why I like to keep my own site

I get that my story is like so many others.  Social media used to be that place to share your thoughts, ideas, and not worry too much about all your efforts being erased, but this is where we are today.

Somehow I really seem to hit some nerves when it comes to TikTok.

The Pattern is Real

Going back to the last account.  On that account, I made a video saying something to the effect that social media makes people feel not good enough, and that is why people become depressed.  When you look at how it works, you’re basically being told in other words that you aren’t good enough.

They don’t have to say “you aren’t good enough” for people to get that sneaky feeling that something they are doing isn’t.  When the media being shown to you is about how to dress, look, or feel better if you just use this… or not getting any views? Try this.  Or, lose weight with this, or if it didn’t work like that then do this instead. Or, if you just vote this way, etc.  The whole premise is to make you feel inadequate in some way, from virtue signaling to straight-up contempt for you. It’s no wonder people get depressed, feel isolated, and their general well-being is in decline.

It was nearly immediately after posting that video that all my videos started to get flagged and removed for ridiculous violations, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Anything I did manage to appeal was denied, and that is how the story went.

Should I even keep an account there?

I do have a backup account on there, but I wonder if it’s even worth keeping.  I mean, why would I keep giving them my attention when they clearly don’t like what I have to say or do? If you aren’t giving them money, buying whatever stuff they have in their slop stores, or promoting the right trends, then what am I to them? A “freeloader”? Someone there to take up space… use up data on their servers without any rewards?

Glad I didn’t buy those views; that would have been a waste of money unless money also allows you an opinion in the pay to play system called Capitalism. Hmmm