Thousands of people are gearing up to block celebrities as part of a new movement.
Massive blocs are a protest against celebrity culture and an attempt to diminish their vast following. Here's what we know:
What is Blockout 2024?
Blockout 2024 is called “Celebrity Blockout 2024'' or “Digitine'', where thousands of people come together to block certain celebrities.
The movement is a protest against celebrity culture, blocking celebrities who have not yet used their power against Israel's war in Gaza.
Some social media users are circulating lists of celebrities they think should have fewer followers.
Why do people block celebrities on social media?
The purpose of blocking a celebrity is to reduce the number of followers they have, which can ultimately affect their earning potential.
It has been reported that blocking someone reduces overall engagement, while simply unfollowing someone stops you from seeing their posts personally.
Blocking someone completely cuts off your online interactions with them.
This reduces that person's audience and causes social media algorithms to prioritize their content less.
The more people block someone, the less prominent their posts will be across the site.
Eddie Borges-Rey, a visiting associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that “social media celebrities rely heavily on high visibility and engagement to attract and maintain advertising deals.” Ta.
What started the Blockout 2024 movement?
As mentioned above, it all comes down to the fact that some celebrities, despite being in positions of power, have not spoken out about their position on the Israel-Gaza war.
The blockout movement first began after the Met Gala on May 6, 2024.
Since then, photos have been circulating comparing celebrities wearing expensive costumes to the destruction in Gaza.
Tickets for each event cost participants $75,000 each.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 35,000 people have died in the conflict since October 2023.
Cindy McCain, head of the United Nations World Food Program, said northern Gaza was suffering from “full-scale famine.”
How are people reacting to Blockout 2024?
Thousands of people plan to block celebrities online.
The hashtag has already been used over 29,000 times on TikTok.
Those participating in the movement plan to block celebrities on multiple platforms, including Instagram, X, and TikTok.
People took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to talk about the situation.
One person said: “The collapse of celebrity culture has begun. We're here for it #blockout2024.”
A second person wrote: “I hope a positive side effect of #BlockOut2024 is the realization that we don't need to be obsessed with celebrities and influencers.”
Read more about Irish Sun
“We gave them a platform,” said @ladyfromtheoutside, the TikToker who coined the term “digitine.”
“It's time to take it back by blocking our opinions, likes, comments and money on all social media platforms.”
