UpScrolled: the pro-Palestine ‘no-censorship’ Instagram alternative is here

New social app UpScrolled is promising an experience which is free from the “censorship” and “algorithmic punishment” of other social media apps. This is proving popular with pro-Palestinian accounts – especially in light of the US takeover of TikTok, which has placed the social media site in the hands of pro-IDF billionaire Larry Ellison.

#upscrolled SocialMedia Platform#mohamz
And i am there too.🇹🇷🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/1G80JhuA0T

— Sidelya (@Sidelya85226193) November 1, 2025

UpScrolled

Tech for Palestine incubated UpScrolled, writing:

Let’s be honest. A lot of us are still on Instagram because we don’t have a real alternative. Activists stay because their cause needs visibility. Creators stay because it’s how they make a living. Artists, musicians, educators, everyday users, and small businesses need it to stay connected and keep going.

At the same time, Meta keeps silencing those very voices. From Palestine activism to BLM, LGBTQIA+ rights to India’s farmer protests, shadowbanning has become the norm. Posts disappear, reach drops, accounts get flagged. This isn’t a theory. It’s been documented by researchers, journalists, and thousands of users.

People are ready to leave. Until now, there just wasn’t anywhere to go.

They add:

Built by Palestinian-Australian developer Issam Hijazi and supported by the Tech for Palestine incubator, UpScrolled is everything Instagram refused to become. It is fully functional, thoroughly tested, and ready to scale.

It combines the best of Instagram and Twitter:

• Photo and video posts
• Stories
• Text updates (for those who’ve had enough of the X circus)
• Real content discovery
• Blocking, flagging, and safety features
• No shadowbanning
• No vague censorship
• No algorithmic punishment for speaking the truth

People have reported censorship of Palestinians on the major social media platforms, including X/Twitter:

Seriously just get on UpScrolled @realUpScrolled

X is now compromised, the amount of pro Zionist content they’re forcing on us is frightening on this app https://t.co/3LjQlPBqHQ

— Azz (@Azznewz) October 14, 2025

Meta platforms have invited similar accusations:

A BBC World Service & BBC Arabic analysis shows that Meta’s Facebook suppressed audience engagement with news produced by Palestinan journalists in the occupied territories. Meta says it did change algos post 7/10 but denies accusations of censorship or bias. pic.twitter.com/DlYjzjVZ4h

— Sangita Myska (@SangitaMyska) December 18, 2024

Meanwhile, this guy is going to be in charge of TikTok:

🇮🇱 ……. 🇺🇸

The most important media story by far is how Larry Ellison — the largest-ever private donor to IDF — is buying up the largest media properties (not just CBS and Paramount but also TikTok), at exactly the same time support for Israel in the US is unravelling.👇 https://t.co/UzaljqFBpj pic.twitter.com/sB5IZTKdvt

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 2, 2025

Ellison has become particularly relevant in the UK because he’s backing the Tony Blair Institute and their Digital ID plans.

Why is he backing it?

So you behave yourself, of course:

Well this isn’t terrifying at all. Here’s Blair talking to Oracles Larry Ellison.

“Citizens will be on their best behavior because we’re constantly watching & recording everything that’s going on.”

Now you can see why Starmer is so keen on digital ID

pic.twitter.com/sZuB0tj02p

— Bernie (@Artemisfornow) September 28, 2025

“Wildest nightmares”

In the video at the top about Upscrolled, activist Mo Hamz says:

As you may know, Instagram, or Meta, aka ‘Metanyahu’, permanently took down my latest account, at @iammohamz. Aside from the fact that this is literally criminal, it is apparent that Meta just cannot handle having me on their platform.

He adds:

I’ve been in contact with the Tech for Palestine team and have been fortunate enough to join the platform as one of the first few users, and I can report back that the user interface is clean, intuitive, and functions just as any other social media platform does, but… with no censorship – especially as it pertains to pro-Palestine content.

Me and my good friend Guy Christensen have been playing around with this app, and we’re ready to continue to give you all the direct, unadulterated, unfiltered, say-it-with-our-full-chest content that you have been accustomed to from us.

Finally, he notes:

While I will still continue to torment Meta, it’s important that we start to migrate to this new platform and build it to something bigger than Meta’s wildest nightmares. Show Meta and the world that we will not be silenced anymore.

Here at the Canary, we’ve seen many social media sites come and go in the decade in which we’ve operated. We’ve rarely felt good about signing up to any of them, and yet we’re quietly optimistic about UpScrolled.

You can follow the Canary on UpScrolled here.

Featured image via RawPixel / System Change / Montecruz Foto / Romain Guy