‘Alix Earle Ceasefire’: The Disruptive Campaign Hacking the Algorithm for Palestinian Liberation

Online activism has played a huge role in the Israel-Hamas ‘war’, taken up enthusiastically by young people looking to pressure their governments to do the right thing: call for a ceasefire, free Palestine. But in a world where just a few tech mega-corporations heavily control online speech, how do you ensure such an important message spreads as far as possible? On TikTok, the new plan is shockingly simple: hijack the comments of the platform’s biggest, most profitable creators in a form of disruptive digital activism.

As digital marketer Angie Marie explains in her TikToks encouraging users to get involved: “[We’re] using creator’s platforms for them… We don’t need to hear them speak, we don’t need to ask anything of them. We’re just gonna borrow their platform and flood the comments with pro-Palestine information.” Angie has mobilised thousands of users to spread awareness about the ongoing genocide of Palestinians as part of her #FlipTheRhythm campaign.

It works like this:

• An influencer with a large TikTok account is targeted. Angie has used the Forbes Top 20 Creators List to select the influencers, with Alexandra Cooper, Dixie D’Amelio, Charli D’Amelio, Jake Paul and Mr Beast (who has even started liking pro-Palestine comments) all targeted in the past. The current targets are ‘TikTok’s boyfriend’ Noah Beck and comedian Elyse Myers. 
  
• On every new video the influencer posts, users will flood the comment section with information and messages of support for Palestine. Angie encourages users to be polite and not engage in arguments, but to talk about the real situation happening in Gaza – including using words like genocide, ceasefire, Palestine, Gaza, and boycott – and promote the accounts of Palestinian content creators like.

The goal is to get the influencer’s name trending with an associated term (one that might otherwise be censored on the platform) to encourage people to seek out more information. “Flip the rhythm on its head and make it think that Palestine content is trending on a massive scale,” Angie explains in one video. For example, the campaign made “Alix Earle ceasefire” trend on the platform, even though Earle has not called for a ceasefire herself or posted anything outside of her usual beauty, fashion, lifestyle and ‘couples content’. “[When] she started trending for ‘Alix Earle ceasefire, people in her comments started asking questions and coming to my page and becoming pro-Palestinian as a result.” The same happened with influencer Monet McMichael, as Angie shares: “Now you’ve got people listening to journalist Bisan’s updates from the ground in Gaza [typing] ‘Who else came here from seeing Monet McMichael’s comments?'”

The campaign also aims to targeted the broader issue of platform censorship; Human Rights Watch found Meta has been systematically suppressing pro-Palestine content, and TikTok has reportedly banned creators for making videos about the conflict, including the official account of news outlet Mondoweiss (which was quickly restored). 

There is a petition demanding changes to TikTok policies, including better safeguards against bot attacks based on racial, religious, political profiling; hate speech violations; and for the platform to provide transparency about the algorithmic or other factors causing unprecedented drops in engagement on certain topics (i.e.: why pro-Palestine content seems to get ‘shadowbanned’). #FlipTheRhythm is also directing its comment-flooding tactic to the official account of the app itself and that of its CEO Shou Zi Chew; leave one-star reviews for TikTok on the App Store giving specific examples of censorship of Palestine content as the reason; and to send these complaints to Human Rights Watch to supplement its current investigation of censorship by Meta, with the hopes that it will open a case against TikTok too.

#FlipTheRhythm is an interesting twist on the traditional online awareness activism that we’re used to. It uses two tools of power – the algorithm and the platform of a capitalistic influencer – and uses them to spread an important message, despite algorithms and influencers being hostile to the cause. By strategically disrupting the digital landscape, users are amplifying their message much, much further than their own accounts could ever reach.

Although this campaign is helping to raise awareness, activism of any kind cannot solely conducted online. We need to continue taking the energy offline to achieve more real-world impact. The BDS movement is a great example of a campaign that uses online awareness to drive offline action, with the targeted boycott of Starbucks and McDonald’s contributing to significant losses in market value. Many are actively contacting their superannuation funds, banks, local councils, churches and universities, urging them to withdraw any investment in Israeli companies and companies that “sustain Israeli apartheid.” By strategically targeting specific entities – or influencers – disruptive actions concentrate their impact, and increase the chance of compeling change.

This is unfortunately going to be a long fight; engaging in online and offline activism in a sustained way is crucial. The more disruptive, creative and targeted those actions are, the more effective they will be at convincing those in power to do the right thing.