Blockout 2024: Why social media users are blocking celebrities over Israel's war on Gaza

Blockout 2024 is a new cyber movement that has surfaced in the past few days targeting celebrities who are deemed insensitive towards the war in Gaza. The campaign gained traction after the Met Gala on May 6, 2024, and various lists of celebrities have been circulating on social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and X. The goal is to block these celebrities on social media to reduce their earnings from ads on these platforms.

The campaign's name references the French Revolution's guillotine as a means of digitally executing celebrities who are seen as supportive of Israel's war on Gaza or who are silent about the crisis. As a result, some celebrities have started to lose followers. For example, Taylor Swift lost about 50,000 followers on Instagram and 300,000 followers on TikTok in the last week.

Users believe that blocking these celebrities will hurt their earnings, as social media platforms rely on high visibility and engagement to attract and maintain advertising deals. Reducing a celebrity's visibility through blocking may lead advertisers to perceive them as less valuable, potentially reducing their ad revenue. The efficacy of the move is yet to be seen.