Celebrities say they are being censored by TikTok after speaking out against ICE

Ownership, Government Influence, and Free Speech

• Many commenters link the alleged TikTok censorship to the forced sale of its U.S. operations and new control by an Oracle‑led, Ellison‑backed venture.
• Several argue this effectively turns TikTok-US into a government-aligned media asset, blurring the line between state power and private platforms.
• Some note irony: U.S. politicians justified the sale on national-security and “foreign influence” grounds, but the result appears to be domestic narrative control.
• There is debate over the First Amendment: some stress it restricts government, not private firms; others see this public–private arrangement as a way to evade those limits.

Evidence of Censorship vs. Algorithmic Noise

• The article is criticized as weak: mainly two anecdotes, one of which involves a video that still went viral.
• Others cite broader anecdotal “aneclata” (e.g., TikTok DMs allegedly deleting “Epstein,” anti‑ICE content losing reach), but acknowledge no access to hard data.
• Some suggest recent ownership/infra changes or encoding issues could explain problems; others think that’s too convenient given the political content affected.
• Overall, commenters agree it’s unclear whether there is systematic, intentional suppression, but many find the timing suspicious.

ICE, Politics, and What’s Being Suppressed

• Commenters split on ICE itself: some compare it to secret-police forces and reference shootings by agents; others strongly support ICE as federal law enforcement.
• There is disagreement over whether public opinion on abolishing ICE is majority or minority; cited polling is contested.
• Some argue negative views of ICE would be natural on celebrity audiences, so suppression would not be demand-driven.

Billionaires, Capitalism, and Narrative Control

• Several see this as part of a broader pattern: U.S. oligarchs consolidating platforms (TikTok, Twitter/X, major media) to shape political opinion, especially in favor of a right‑wing or “ultra‑capitalist” agenda.
• Others push back on terminology (“capitalism” vs. “crony capitalism”/mercantilism) but still worry about a handful of tech and media magnates steering discourse.

Platform Transparency and Alternatives

• Lack of legal requirements for algorithmic transparency is called a “travesty,” given platforms’ power.
• Some urge celebrities to leave corporate platforms and adopt federated or self‑hosted social media to avoid state-aligned censorship and own their audience.

Meta: HN, Flags, and Political Conversation

• Multiple comments note the thread itself was flagged, interpreting this as partisans trying to bury criticism of the “regime” or avoid uncomfortable politics.
• Others argue these threads produce more heat than light, but some insist that even messy debate is vital for raising awareness about tech-enabled censorship.