Out of the shadows.

For whatever reason, my content at RogueMale is Shadow Banned on a variety of platforms – X, Facebook and Google/YouTube. The evidence for this can be seen instantly by visiting any of one of those limited hangouts and seeing the statistics for yourself.

“Shadow banning, also called stealth banning, hellbanning, ghost banning, and comment ghosting, is the practice of blocking or partially blocking a user or the user’s content from some areas of an online community in such a way that the ban is not readily apparent to the user, regardless of whether the action is taken by an individual or an algorithm. For example, shadow-banned comments posted to a blog or media website would be visible to the sender, but not to other users accessing the site.

The phrase “shadow banning” has a colloquial history and has undergone some usage evolution. It originally applied to a deceptive sort of account suspension on web forums, where a person would appear to be able to post while actually having all of their content hidden from other users. More recently, the term has come to apply to alternative measures, particularly visibility measures like delisting and downranking.

By partly concealing, or making a user’s contributions invisible or less prominent to other members of the service, the hope may be that in the absence of reactions to their comments, the problematic or otherwise out-of-favour user will become bored or frustrated and leave the site, and that spammers and trolls will be discouraged to continue their unwanted behavior or create new accounts.” Wikipedia

And yet, as I’ll demonstrate below, the comments from those who have watched my content is very positive. So, why are the numbers of apparently low engagement? Why is the work I put out being shadow-banned and what can I do about it?

Life is a perpetual game of Hide and Seek  shadow play. I am now closing in on my 50th episode of the Rogue Cast and, modesty aside, I am invariably satisfied with the content. For now, it generally takes the form of a walk and talk, in which I literally ramble over the local landscapes of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire whilst discoursing on a variety of subjects which are of interest to me and my readers/viewers/listeners.

Each RogueCast posted at RM has an accompanying article with links and sources to the material and, of course, there is also a large collection of writings on a variety of subjects, including the Great British Mortgage Swindle, a coruscating documentary co-produced by Michael O’Bernicia and yours truly.

This is a collection of comments from my recent Rogue Cast on YT, some of which, if not all, are being hidden from view, according to one of my viewers.

@six-blade5992

“Great commentary, mate….I’ve now watched several of your vids and shared them about ….Not many people talk about (or even know about) the Trivium method, so good on you explaining it…”

@fieryflowergirl5095

2 days ago
“More great truth. Why so many people cannot see through the veil, which is now so thin as to be virtually transparent, is beyond me. Richard D Hall has my backing. Listened to Iain Davis being interviewed by Gemma O’D outside the courts, another good man. Thanks Michael.”

@haydnhades2730
2 days ago

“I find myself very much looking forward to your walks and talks and I thank you for them. Just as with the attempts to have us queue up to be William Shakespeared in recent years, those of us who retain the ability to see and think clearly must deepen our lines drawn in the sand. We may seem to be assailed from all sides, but be assured there exists a way through this upside-down reality for each of us, and perhaps in different ways. Although not religious I do believe we are living through the last attempt to disseminate something called Common Sense (the highest form of Intelligence) in the realm of mankind.”

@vibetone355
2 days ago

“Considering humans only populate 3% of the planet, the inner earth theory is definitely something to consider, UAPs or UFOs apparently use anti gravity crafts to fly around in, also something to do with magnetism, earth’s core giant magnet maybe a fuel source?? Another ramble in the bramble nice weather to enjoy, keep well and safe.”

It is fair to state that in no way am I in this for the ‘money‘ – I do it because I love it and have been writing since I was a child.

However, if we take the maxim, Credit where Credit is Due, is it unreasonable to expect some kind of exchange from those appreciative of my work? And, is it not the case that ‘money’ is above all else but a medium of spiritual exchange, albeit one that is vastly controlled by the hidden financiers who promulgate fake debt and usury?

I would posit that is a reasonable take on the situation and so, from now on, I will be making only introductory content for YouTube which will direct viewers to the full Rogue Cast on other, less restrictive channels.

As to my X account, I may simply phase it out. After all, the wonderful audience for my work can simply subscribe to my email list on this site and receive notifications that way. I really couldn’t give a hoot about Musk’s platform, when it has a CEO who preaches the false and duplicitous doctrine that users will have,

“Freedom of speech, but not of reach.”

and uses ‘Gov issued I.D”, which along with all their data, is processed and held by a former Israeli/Mossad agency. The ‘blue tick’ of verification, which costs around £7 a month, means that these agencies have your data and that data is sold on to the industrial military complex who may use it against you in these 2-Tiered times of dystopian technocracy, as exemplifed by the traitor Keir Starmer’s treacherous diktats.

None of which, of course, explains why this humble website and its associated content is shadow-banned. It is evident to me that the Wiki quote above pinpoints the issue here,

“the hope may be that in the absence of reactions to their comments, the problematic or otherwise out-of-favour user will become bored or frustrated and leave the site…”

However, that won’t work because I will continue to write and produce my Rogue podcasts regardless of the limitations on my potential audience on the simple basis I enjoy doing it and others appreciate it.

Is the shadow-banning an overreaction to my work? What is it in my content that merits such an over-zealous ban across these platforms? I’ll be interested to read your comments and/or any suggestions readers may have for extending my audiences.

In the meantime, thank you to all who have taken the time to comment and who subscribe to Rogue Male and an especial thanks to those who made donations via the Buy Me A Coffee button.