TikTok Alternatives Experience Download Surge Following Trump-Linked Acquisition
Competing social media platforms Skylight and UpScrolled are witnessing an unprecedented surge in user downloads across the United States. This remarkable growth comes in direct response to a significant ownership change at TikTok and mounting allegations of political censorship targeting content critical of former President Donald Trump and his administration.
Ownership Shift and Immediate Backlash
Last week marked a pivotal moment for TikTok's operations within the United States. Control was formally transferred from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to a consortium of American investors. This group notably includes the technology behemoth Oracle, which is led by Larry Ellison, a well-documented political ally of Donald Trump. The transition has ignited immediate controversy and concern among the platform's vast user base, which numbers approximately 170 million individuals in the US alone.
Allegations of Systematic Censorship
The backlash has been fuelled by widespread user reports alleging that TikTok has begun systematically suppressing or removing content deemed critical of Trump and specific governmental actions. Users have cited instances where keywords such as 'Epstein' appear to be blocked, while videos expressing disapproval of Trump or commenting on recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis have reportedly been made less visible or removed entirely. These accusations have coalesced into a powerful movement advocating for a mass boycott of the popular short-form video app.
Rivals Capitalise on User Discontent
In this climate of distrust, alternative platforms have positioned themselves as havens for free expression. UpScrolled, which explicitly markets itself as a censorship-free alternative, experienced such a dramatic influx of new users that its servers were overwhelmed, temporarily hindering access. Despite these technical difficulties, the app managed to break into the top ten rankings on Apple's App Store for free applications.
"Well, this is new... You all showed up so fast our servers tapped out," the UpScrolled team communicated via an Instagram post. "We're not going to pretend that's not frustrating, but honestly? We're kind of emotional about it too. We're a tiny team building an alternative to the platforms that stopped listening to you."
Official Investigations and Platform Response
The situation has escalated to the point of attracting official governmental scrutiny. California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the launch of a formal probe to determine whether TikTok's alleged content moderation practices violate state law. "It's time to investigate," Governor Newsom declared in a statement on social media platform X. "I am launching a review into whether TikTok is violating state law by censoring Trump-critical content."
In response to the growing crisis, TikTok issued a statement attributing recent user experience issues to a significant technical failure. The company explained that a power outage at one of its US data centres triggered a "cascading systems failure" resulting in multiple bugs, including potential problems with content posting. "We've made significant progress in recovering our US infrastructure with our US data center partner," the statement read. "However, the US user experience may still have some technical issues. We're committed to bringing TikTok back to its full capacity as soon as possible."
The confluence of a politically-charged ownership change, serious allegations of biased content moderation, and the subsequent technical difficulties reported by TikTok has created a perfect storm. This environment has allowed smaller, ideologically-aligned competitors like Skylight and UpScrolled to capture significant market attention and a rapidly expanding user base, fundamentally altering the social media landscape.
