TikTok users are claiming censorship and a right-wing takeover of the social media app after noticing their accounts seem to be automatically unfollowing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) — and that when they try to refollow, it just happens again. But according to TikTok, what users see as a conspiracy is simply a glitch as the app returns to service after going dark for half a day. TikTok appears to be correct, as Rolling Stone found the issue is affecting the accounts of politicians across the political spectrum. However, the fact that users on the left are claiming it’s a targeted problem speaks to a widespread fear among social media users that their favorite platforms are favoring right-wing interests as Big Tech tries to curry favor with President Donald Trump.
“They fucking made me unfollow AOC,” said user @blauvelt.p in a TikTok video, which currently has over 200,000 likes. “I had to go in and refollow her. I am shooketh.” In the comments of the video, users echo the original poster’s experience: “Yesterday it literally happened 5 times,” reads one comment. “I had to refollow Bernie and AOC,” reads another. Other videos echo the same sentiments, with the view counts reaching into the millions, and hundreds of users commenting the same thing is happening to them.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” said user @autumnandcats. “They are having us unfollow accounts against our will and this is complete censorship. TikTok is not the same platform it was.”
“I had to refollow [AOC],” said user @mynameinbrights. “Yo, we need to get off this app. Let’s go. It’s time to peace out.”
In videos and comments, TikTok users are suggesting that the unfollowing of AOC is a result of the app’s coziness with President Trump. However, a representative from TikTok tells Rolling Stone that their policies and algorithms have not changed and the automatic unfollowings may be a result of the temporary blackout of the app. “We’re working hard to restore our U.S. operations back to normal and expect some temporary instability as we restore our services, which could impact TikTok features or users’ access to the app,” the representative says, adding that the company is still investigating the cause of the issue.
Indeed, it seems that the issue goes far past just AOC. When a Rolling Stone reporter followed @aoc on TikTok, the account was immediately unfollowed, as described by other users. The reporter also experienced the automatic unfollowing with Former Vice President Kamala Harris’s account, @kamalaharris, and Senator Bernie Sanders (I – VT.), @bernie. When the reporter attempted to follow President Donald Trump, @realdonaldtrump, his account was likewise automatically unfollowed; the same happened with the Team Trump (@teamtrump) account.
It’s not surprising, though, that users might think the app was trying to favor some politicians over others. After the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a law banning the popular social media platform, the app went dark for about 14 hours. It returned with a message thanking the then-incoming President for his work in returning the app to functionality. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” the message read, leaving TikTok users wondering whether the content on the app will be skewed toward a rosier view of the Trump administration.
TikTok’s legal status is still in question even as, on his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order extending the ban on the app for 75 days. Noting his “unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States,” Trump’s order states that he intends to consult with advisors “to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”
This is happening just days after Meta users reported they were suddenly following Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance on Instagram and Facebook, prompting a conspiracy that Meta was making accounts automatically follow the politicians. Meta refuted the claim, with communications director Andy Stone posting on Threads that the Instagram and Facebook accounts of @potus and @vp are managed by the White House and ownership is automatically shifted to the new administration, meaning that if a user followed @potus when it belonged to Former President Joe Biden, they would still be following @potus when ownership shifted to the Trump White House.
Not only has the first week of the Trump administration been dizzying — with the President sharpening his attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, moving to end birthright citizenship, and withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement, among dozens of other actions — but the tech world seems to be falling in line. At Trump’s inauguration, tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Tim Cook were given prime seating. Meta has announced its ending its DEI and fact-checking efforts as the new administration takes hold at the same time as Zuckberg is getting swole and going on Joe Rogan’s podcast to promise he’ll uphold ‘masculine energy’ (which he views as having been ‘neutered in recent years) at Meta. The country’s leadership is signaling a rightward turn, leaving users on edge, and questioning whether their algorithms and the platforms they love are going to do the same.
Jan. 29, 2:30 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include that TikTok is still investigating the cause of the issue.