Bisan Owda's TikTok Account Gets Suspended
Award‑winning Gaza journalist’s TikTok ban ignites concerns over content moderation and free expression on global social media platforms.
- Publish date: since 9 hours Reading time: 1 min read
Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, known for her frontline reporting from Gaza and a strong social media presence, says her TikTok account, with 1.4 million followers, has been permanently suspended, raising questions about censorship on major social media platforms.
Owda, an Emmy‑award‑winning journalist and contributor to Al Jazeera’s AJ+, announced the ban in a video message posted to her Instagram and X accounts on Wednesday. She said she had been building her platform over four years, where she shared daily videos documenting life in the war‑torn territory.
“I expected that it would be restricted, like every time, not banned forever,” Owda said in the video recorded from Gaza.
Hours after Owda posted about the suspension, another account with a similar username remained visible in Asutralia, but not in the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera.
The move comes days after TikTok’s acquisition by new US‑based investors, and some reports suggest that recent changes to content moderation policies, including the classification of certain political terminology as hate speech, might play a role in enforcement decisions, though TikTok has not publicly confirmed details.
Owda’s followers and free‑speech advocates have voiced concern over the ban, framing it as part of broader apprehensions about censorship and the suppression of reporting from Gaza. Critics argue that removing a high‑profile journalistic voice could limit public access to firsthand accounts of life under armed conflict.
Despite the suspension, Owda has pledged to continue her work and reach audiences through alternative platforms and channels, stating that her reporting will persist regardless of restrictions on TikTok.