This is another podcast in the Beyond Global Waves series. Shadow banning on social media occurs when the platform subtly suppresses a user’s content without explicitly notifying them. This can manifest as decreased views, likes, or overall engagement, leading users to believe their content isn’t reaching a wider audience. This moderation practice’s perceived lack of transparency can breed user suspicion and unease.
Shadow banning can impede free speech by restricting the visibility of certain opinions, even if they don’t violate the platform’s official content guidelines. When content is suppressed without explanation, individuals may feel compelled to self-censor or adopt ‘coded language’ to avoid being shadow-banned, hindering their capacity for open and unrestricted expression.
In the context of emerging underground activism against the Trump administration and ICE on social media, users have increasingly used creative methods to express their views while bypassing perceived content suppression, including shadow banning. After President Donald Trump’s return to the presidency and growing concerns about censorship on platforms like TikTok, especially following its temporary ban and reinstatement, liberal and progressive users began adopting a form of coded communication known as algospeak. Algospeak uses alternative words, phrases, or symbols to evade algorithmic detection and avoid triggering moderation systems, allowing users to continue sharing politically sensitive content without being silenced.
The hashtag #cutewinterboots emerged on TikTok as a significant example of this strategy. This seemingly innocuous phrase became a ‘codeword for political dissent‘, particularly concerning opposition to Trump’s immigration policies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Users employed ‘ice‘ as a shorthand for ICE, and ‘cute winter boots‘ was understood as a way to discuss resistance and stay safe from ice without triggering algorithmic filters and potential shadow banning. The intention was to create a centralized hub for content expressing opposition that would appear harmless to the platform’s algorithms. Some creators even linked their videos to TikTok Shop, not to sell actual boots, but to direct users to educational books or protective gear for protesting, aiming to leverage the algorithm’s preference for product-focused content. Despite these efforts, the true meaning of cute winter boots rapidly became public knowledge.
The hashtag #FDT, which stands for Fuck Donald Trump, has long served as a symbol of political dissent, particularly among younger, progressive online communities. Users frequently reported experiencing ‘shadow banning’ of posts containing this hashtag, especially when platforms faced accusations of shifting moderation policies to align more favorably with the Trump administration or corporate interests. To circumvent this suppression, activists and creators began embedding #FDT within more innocuous or disguised content, such as pairing it with harmless-looking tags like #cutewinterboots, using visual signs in videos, or placing the acronym in comment sections rather than captions. These strategies illustrate a broader trend of ‘algorithm evasion’, where users encode political messaging to avoid triggering moderation filters.
The ‘Soup for my family‘ meme originated in July 2020 when President Donald Trump, during a discussion about protests with the National Association of Police Organizations, claimed that protestors were using cans of soup as weapons against police officers but would defend themselves by saying the soup was ‘soup for my family’. The clip of this remark gained significant traction. It went viral about a month later, in September 2020, after a Twitter user and Washington Post reporter shared it, finding the idea of soup being used as a deadly weapon and the subsequent excuse amusing. This led to others discovering the clip and creating jokes, parodies, and humorous TikTok lip syncs. The ‘Soup for my family‘ meme evolved into a satirical tool for online resistance, used to mock government narratives and highlight what was perceived as authoritarianism. Users co-opted the innocent phrase to maintain their online voice and transform humor into a form of protest and a shield against perceived suppression.
Relating this to the #cutewinterboots and #FDT phenomena, we see a common thread of ‘creative strategies online users employ to express political dissent and circumvent perceived censorship or suppression. Both #cutewinterboots and the disguised use of #FDT, much like the Soup for my family meme, involve using ‘coded language or humor to engage with sensitive political topics. While #cutewinterboots directly aimed to evade real-time algorithmic detection on platforms like TikTok, and the disguised use of #FDT sought to bypass shadow banning, the Soup for my family meme served as a form of ‘retrospective resistance and commentary’ on a political narrative through satire. All three examples underscore the ongoing tension between online platforms, their content moderation policies, and users’ desire to express their political viewpoints freely. They demonstrate digital activists’ resourcefulness and ingenuity in navigating and challenging systemic barriers to online expression.
NEXUS-IBA does not endorse, approve, or disapprove the use of any specific hashtags, political views, or representations mentioned in this podcast or related content. Our goal is to present objective information drawn from multiple sources to help explain emerging media trends such as shadow banning, content moderation, and the use of algospeak in digital communication.
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