Did social networks censor videos of the October 24 demonstration?

Did social networks tighten their moderation during the October 24 demonstrations? This is what many users of TikTok, X and even Instagram say. They accuse the platforms of having deleted lives, videos shot live from the demonstrations, or images posted just after the day of mobilization last Saturday. “Where are the videos from October 24?” asks a TikTok user. I didn't go there, but I tried to find out what happened. There's nothing at all." It's just censorship, assures another. They are in the process of censoring all the videos, all the lives and all the images of large gatherings."

Other content creators accuse the platforms of having suddenly chosen to give less visibility to their publications. This is the case of activist Charlotte Ensaigne, who is widely followed on TikTok and Instagram. "If you don't see my content or that of your content creators involved in the October 24 demonstration, that's normal. We are experiencing "state shadow banning" she says. We talk about "shadow banning" when a platform stops recommending certain videos to users.

TikTok has limited searches with certain keywords

There are many videos of the demonstrations of Saturday October 24, but the moderation was stronger. For the moment, only TikTok has detailed its policy for us. As for lives, the platform does not confirm having deleted live videos. However, it says it has “temporarily” limited monetization, that is to say the remuneration of this type of content. This would involve avoiding “the exploitation of this type of event for profit”. As for user recommendation tools, TikTok explains that it has banned certain terms when searching for content, in particular words that “actively encourage violence or criminal behavior”.

It is difficult to measure the precise impact of this moderation policy. However, the echo of the demonstrations on the networks was much less strong than on Saturday October 17. According to data from our partner Visibrain, specialized in observing social networks, the keyword #October24 generated 121 million views on TikTok, compared to 800 million for #October17. On Instagram, the number of views was divided by 9 between October 17 and 24. On X, the number of publications was divided by three. Another factor must be taken into account: the demonstrations of October 24 having been punctuated by fewer acts of violence than those of October 17, they generated fewer viral videos.

A meeting in Matignon on the eve of the demonstrations

Is this reinforced moderation a response from social networks to a request from the government, as many publications suggest? A meeting took place in Matignon, Friday October 23, with representatives of Meta, Snap, TikTok, Reddit, Discord and Google in order to “better prevent the dissemination of illicit content calling for violence, damage and looting”, details the press release from the Prime Minister's office. The platforms have undertaken to examine “with increased responsiveness” the content reported by the authorities.

On the eve of the day of action on October 24, more than a hundred reports had been made in anticipation of Saturday, the press release specifies, “half of which led to the suspension of the accounts”.