Twitter CEO Elon Musk responds to Indian handles complaining of ‘shadow ban’ and drop in their reach

“Interesting. This seems to have happened in every country,” Musk said Saturday in response to the tweet by journalist Rohan Dua.

My tweets are not getting reach due to mass reporting.

If you are seeing this tweet please reply or retweet and open my profile for once so you can get my tweets on your TL regular 🙏

Thank you 🙏

— Vijay Patel🇮🇳 (@vijaygajera) December 17, 2022

Replying to a tweet by one Vijay Patel in which he had alleged that his tweets were not getting sufficient reach due to mass reporting, Dua had tweeted, “Saw your tweet for first time after Gujarat elections. @elonmusk must be informed how @twitterindia employees are still offering best salon & spa services to Left Liberal gang and stopping our reach to ensure we dont rally behind Musk team. Same ecosystem before Musk dominating.”

On Sunday, Shefali Vaidya, the Pune-based author who often courts controversies with her comments and stands on issues, posted a similar complaint against the microblogging site, alleging her reach had been killed and that she had been “shadow-banned” for months.

Tagging Musk, Vaidya said, “It is time to quit @Twitter for me. Despite being a @verified ID, my reach has been kiIIed. Followers are not seeing my tweets, I have been shadow banned for months, and my follower count is decreasing daily, despite new follower notifications.”

Within 90 minutes of this, Musk responded to the tweet and promised that he would “investigate” the matter.

It is time to quit @Twitter for me. Despite being a @verified ID, my reach has been kiIIed. Followers are not seeing my tweets, I have been shadow banned for months, and my follower count is decreasing daily, despite new follower notifications. Cc @elonmusk RT if you see this.

— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) December 18, 2022

Since taking over as Twitter CEO in the last week of October, Musk reportedly cut the company’s workforce in half and changed the microblogging site’s policy concerning verified accounts.

The rumbling at Twitter and resultant chaos have caused many users to leave or at least threaten to leave, in recent weeks. Other similar social media platforms, including Mastodon, Tumblr, Clubhouse and T2, are trying to make the most of this opportunity.