ABSTRACT
TikTok is a viral micro-vlogging social network site that positions itself as a space to represent marginalized Creators. Users access resources for education, community building, and advocacy through the platform's storied #ForYouPage and unique multimodal infrastructure. However, TikTok's use of shadowbanning and algorithmic oppression—directed at disabled, queer, and trans users—complicates TikTok's narrative of advocacy and visibility. This censorship is not accidental. This chapter argues that social networking sites often program offline systems of oppression into their algorithmic infrastructures. Drawing from an interdisciplinary foundation of critical algorithm studies and crip theory, the chapter investigates how queer, disabled, and trans TikTok Creators use their platforms to communicate world-(re)making beyond algorithmic oppression.
