TikTok recently flagged a dance video by American singer, actress and social-media influencer Montana Tucker, labeling it “sensitive content” and obscuring it from users’ feeds.
The warning, “Some people may find this video to be disturbing,” appears ahead of the music video, which includes released hostages Moran Stella Yanai, Raz Ben Ami and Hila Rotem Shoshani, as well as family members of Ohad Ben Ami, Shlomo Manzur, and Yossi and Eli Sharabi, hostages still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
The TikTok content warning offers viewers the option to skip the video before watching it.
The video, produced by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (and the second collaboration between the organization and the performer), shows Tucker and 35 members of the Sol Dance Academy performing an interpretive dance as hostages in a tunnel.
“This tribute is a celebration of survival and a plea for freedom. Every hostage deserves to become a survivor,” Tucker wrote in the video’s caption.
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, posted on X saying that “shadow banning is a reality well-known to all activists defending Israel. Now, TikTok is making it official by covering videos to prevent them from being seen. The latest dance by Montana Tucker, calling for the immediate release of the hostages, has been censored and blocked from reaching TikTok’s largest audience.”
Since its publication on Tucker’s social-media channels on Dec. 16, the video has gone viral, “drawing the attention of millions around the world to the ongoing plight of the Israeli hostages and the urgent need to bring them home now,” the organization stated.
“By suppressing these stories, TikTok is effectively aiding efforts to silence the truth,” Roytman said.
