Zurich/Silicon Valley - It's digital extinction on a quiet footing: Instagram and TikTok are systematically shadowbanning accounts of sex workers, pole dancers and sex educators - hundreds are also affected in Switzerland! And the perfidious thing: the platforms don't openly admit it.
What is shadowbanning? Shadowbanning means: Your account still exists, but no one sees it anymore. Posts do not appear in hashtags, the reach collapses, and new followers do not appear. You post to nowhere - without Instagram or TikTok telling you why.
Those affected report:
📉 Reach from 10,000 to 200 views – overnight 🚫 Hashtags like #woman, #strippers, #sexworkersrightsday hidden ❌ Content is marked as "sensitive" even though it meets the guidelines 👻 Account visibility disappears from search "They think we're all the same!" Pole dancers, fitness influencers, burlesque artists – they all end up in the same bucket as sex workers who advertise their services. The algorithms cannot differentiate between art, sport and advertising.
“It is common ground that Instagram and TikTok cannot distinguish between a pole dancer and a sex worker who advertises online,” explains a Swiss victim on Reddit. “Many people think pole dancing is automatically stripping – and you’re already shadowbanned.”
LGBTQ+ and sex-ed accounts particularly affected It doesn't just affect sex workers: LGBTQ+ accounts and sex educators report massive shadowbans. Content about safe sexuality, education and consent are disappearing from feeds.
Mashable spoke to several people affected: “Instagram shadowbans sex-positive content – and we are silenced,” says a sex educator. “It’s digital erasure.”
Swiss sex workers: “Our livelihood is being destroyed!” For many Swiss sex workers, Instagram and TikTok are essential marketing channels. If you can't be found, you lose customers - and therefore income.
“My reach has dropped by 90%,” reports an OnlyFans creator from Zurich. «Instagram no longer shows my posts to anyone. I post every day, but it doesn't help."
The strategies of those affected:
🔄 Create multiple backup accounts 📧 Build email lists to stay independent of social media 🌐 Own websites instead of platform dependency 🤐 Code words instead of direct terms (“Spicy Content” instead of “Adult Content”) TikTok censors even harder than Instagram While Instagram still allows at least some visibility, TikTok is merciless: accounts disappear completely from the For You feed. Hashtags like #sexwork, #sw, #swer are blocked.
Highsnobiety reports: “TikTok makes it even harder for sex workers than Instagram. The platform has zero tolerance – even harmless content is deleted.”
The algorithms are biased Research projects like “Posting Into The Void” (Hacking Hustling) show that content moderation and shadowbanning normalize the digital oppression of sex workers. The algorithms are trained to censor anything even remotely related to sex work.
The problem: false positives are commonplace. Fitness influencers in sportswear, dancers in stage outfits, artists with body positivity content – all end up in the same censorship filter.
Swiss affected people are organizing themselves Self-help groups and online communities are forming in Switzerland. Those affected exchange tips:
Never write “Sex” or “OnlyFans” in your bio Use link-in-bio tools instead of direct OnlyFans links Stories instead of feed posts for sensitive content VPN and IP rotation to bypass shadowbans Platforms are silent – or in denial Instagram and TikTok do not respond to requests. There are hardly any official statements. If so, it says: “We adhere to our community guidelines.”
But the guidelines are vague and can be interpreted arbitrarily. What's okay today can lead to a shadowban tomorrow.
Conclusion: Instagram and TikTok engage in systematic censorship against sex workers – including in Switzerland. Digital invisibility costs those affected their reach, customers and livelihoods. The fight against algorithms has just begun!
