Eight years. 3.6 million of you. Gone.
TikTok permanently banned my account for “multiple policy violations.” Here is what those violations were.
The most recent one was my video on the truckers’ strike in southern Italy. I appealed it, and TikTok reviewed it and restored it. Days later, that same video was listed as one of the reasons for my ban.
Another strike came from a video I posted on October 1, 2023, three years ago. It was pulled two weeks ago.
So of four strikes, TikTok already admitted one was fine, and another is three years old.
I can’t show you who made the call. I don’t have to. Since January, a new joint venture has held the final say over moderation for American TikTok users, and Oracle is one of its three main investors. Oracle’s co-founder, Larry Ellison, is one of the largest private funders of Israel’s military. Look at who owns the platform, what they fund, and whose accounts disappear. I said this was coming in January. CAIR has since accused the new ownership of a “censorship spree.”
This isn’t the first time they’ve tried. Ohio State expelled me for my speech. We fought it with the ACLU, and a federal judge ordered the expulsion reversed. YouTube “permanently” banned me in February, then restored my channel and monetization after public pressure. Every time they come for us, we fight back and win something.
But this one hurts. TikTok was half my income. I’m writing this from China, 12 hours from everyone I organize with, and it feels like my umbilical cord was ripped out.
I meant what I said, though: I’d take 1,000 comrades over 4 million followers any day. An algorithm can be taken from us. A direct line between us can’t.
So here’s the ask:
1. Subscribe. Free keeps us connected no matter what platform falls next.
2. Go paid if you can.
3. Share the video. Post it everywhere I can’t, especially TikTok and Instagram.
Coming here first: the Palantir investigation, dispatches from what I’m seeing in China, and the full 8-year archive. In less than a year, we’ll be forming something strong, novel, and great. Subscribers are the founding members.
When the Granma landed, Castro was at one point down to just two men. He later said: “It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action.”
We have both. See you here.
— Guy
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