You’re Not Imagining It, Social Media Algorithms Are Changing

After five years of “Will they? Won’t they?” between the United States Government and ByteDance, TikTok was banned to US… For less than 24 hours.  

In the time since the TikTok ban and inauguration, you may have noticed a difference in your For You Pages or newsfeeds. Videos circulated after the inauguration discussing the alleged changes to algorithms, unprompted followings of political figures, and extreme media censorship.  

Many Instagram users discovered in the days after the inauguration that they were following the vice president’s Instagram, as well as the presidential Instagram. It was argued online that the accounts rolled over from previous administration, but Instagram data shows both accounts were only created in January 2025.  

Similarly, people began following President Donald Trump’s Facebook page. Both platforms are owned by Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who was previously a supporter of progressive politicians, such as Barack Obama, has made a sharp turn to supporting the right. Trump’s inaugural fund received a $1 million donation from Meta.  

Unsolicited followings of political figures came less than one month after Meta announced they will no longer be fact-checking on their platforms.  

TikTok is not owned by Meta, but users noticed changes, even before the inauguration, starting with TikTok CEO, Shou Chow, thanking President Trump in a video. Afterwards, U.S. users returned to TikTok with a message, thanking Trump again for signing an executive order that postponed the ban for 75 days. It feels like an odd choice to thank the man who initiated the ban in the first place five years ago.  

In my opinion, the language in TikTok’s thank you message was alarming. In a popup ad that specifically thanked a man who was not yet president, all users were required to engage with the popup to continue using the app. Memes circulated with edited images of the message indicating that TikTok was now back, just with increased right leaning media coverage.  

Sinh Taylor, a Temple Student working toward her Master of Social Work said, “My algorithm, especially on TikTok, has gone completely off the rails. I don’t see the people I follow on my feed as much as I used to. I’m seeing people on my feed that I don’t follow more often. For a while my feed was really political, now it’s real Super Bowl oriented for whatever reason.” 

Since the inauguration, I’ve noticed mentions of Gaza and Luigi Mangione seem to have disappeared altogether off of my For You Page. Meanwhile, users who are attempting to bring attention to increased plane crashes, the SAVE Act, the dissolvement of the government’s reproductive resource website, and the removal of any mention of queer and transgender from government websites are saying they’re being shadow banned or having their accounts restricted.   

Taylor shared how she and her friends’ accounts have been affected since the inauguration. “A few friends of mine who are sexuality educators have been shadow banned. My professional account is also shadow banned. It is making it nearly impossible to grow my brand, which in turn affects my ability to book teaching gigs.”  

Shadow banning is when a content creator’s videos or images are not promoted to users through the algorithm. Their content can remain active on their page, but it does not show up on users’ For You Pages or in their newsfeeds.  

Social media users experiencing rapid algorithm changes are not new. A total restructuring raises concerns about free speech, media censorship, and the roles of social media CEOs in government roles.  

• algorithm
• Donald Trump
• entertainment
• social media
• tiktok