Topline
Social media app UpScrolled said its servers crashed earlier today because so many new users are downloading the app as it capitalizes on user discontent with TikTok, which has alienated some users who accuse it of censoring anti-Trump videos after spinning off its U.S. operations to a new entity owned by some Trump allies.
TikTok came under new U.S. ownership last week. (Photo Illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Key Facts
UpScrolled, which supports short-form videos, video editing and text posts, among other features, ranks No. 9 on Apple’s App Store among free apps, one spot above TikTok, and No. 2 on the social networking apps chart as of Monday afternoon.
UpScrolled said in a post on Instagram Monday morning new users “showed up so fast our servers tapped out,” thanking users for joining while describing itself as an “alternative to the platforms that stopped listening to you.”
Users have flocked to UpScrolled amid rising discontent with TikTok, after Trump ally Larry Ellison’s Oracle and other companies took over the social media platform’s U.S. operations last week, prompting allegations that TikTok is censoring content that criticizes Trump or his administration’s immigration policies.
UpScrolled has advertised itself as a platform with “no censorship” and “no shadowbans,” and it has previously called out TikTok, Meta and X for “censoring voices, enforcing biased moderation, and hiding content behind algorithms.”
What Is Upscrolled?
UpScrolled launched in June, founded by Issam Hijazi, who had previously worked at companies including IBM and Oracle. Hijazi, who is Palestinian, Jordanian and Australian, got the idea to create the app in late 2023 when “meaningful stories disappeared from feeds while misinformation thrived,” according to UpScrolled’s website. UpScrolled says it does not push any agendas, “political, commercial, or otherwise,” and that every post has a fair chance to be seen, noting there are no “shadowbans, no hidden throttling, no pay-to-play favoritism” for any posts or creators. Upscrolled says the only posts it restricts are those that violate community guidelines or contain illegal activity, hate speech, bullying or harassment.
How Does The Upscrolled Algorithm Work?
UpScrolled offers users a “following” feed, consisting of posts from people a user follows, and a “discover” feed. For the following feed, posts are ordered chronologically with “no manipulation,” UpScrolled says. On the discover feed, posts are ordered by likes, comments and reshares with a “light decay over time so fresh content rises, plus a touch of randomness” so all posts have a chance to show up on a user’s feed.
What Do We Know About Tiktok’s New Ownership?
TikTok spun off its U.S. operations into a new entity last week to avoid a ban under a 2024 federal law requiring TikTok to separate its U.S. app from Chinese company ByteDance. Among TikTok’s new owners are Oracle, co-founded by billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison, as well as Emirati investment company MGX and California-based investment company Silver Lake. The new owners’ apparent ties to Trump have rattled some users, who are also accusing TikTok of censoring posts that are critical of Trump or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. TikTok said in a statement on X it experienced a power outage at a U.S. data center, which caused posts to take longer to publish and show up in users’ feeds. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., singer Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell and more are among those accusing TikTok of censorship, with Murphy calling it a threat to democracy in a post on X.
Further Reading
Are New Owners Censoring TikTok? Top Democrats, Influencers, Celebrities Raising Concerns (Forbes)