Q&A with UpScrolled founder Issam Hijazi, who says the non-algorithmic social app has 5M+ users, mainstream apps had censored pro-Palestinian content, and more
Issam Hijazi launched UpScrolled after users alleged censorship on other platforms. Nine months later, its user base is soaring …
Context & Ripple Effects
UpScrolled’s claimed 5M-plus user base extends a rapid-growth arc: it previously said growth accelerated after TikTok’s US takeover, then reached the top of Apple’s US App Store amid allegations that TikTok suppressed anti-ICE videos and said it had passed 1M users. The company is positioning a non-algorithmic feed and political impartiality as alternatives for users who distrust large-platform moderation.
The claims arrive in a long-running environment in which major platforms have had to actively police conflict-related misinformation, including Meta’s wartime operations center and large-scale removals during the Israel-Hamas war. That makes moderation credibility—not merely feed design—a central test for an app attracting users over perceived censorship.
First-order effects
- UpScrolled gains a larger audience and a sharper identity around non-algorithmic distribution and alleged political censorship, increasing the immediate pressure to demonstrate that its impartiality claim works at scale.
- Its founder’s allegations put mainstream social platforms’ moderation decisions under renewed scrutiny among users already seeking alternatives; the reported 5M-plus figure gives that migration more visibility than the earlier App Store surge past 1M users.
Second-order effects
- Incumbent platforms face stronger incentives to explain enforcement decisions and appeal processes for politically sensitive content, because opaque moderation can become a user-acquisition opening for smaller rivals.
- UpScrolled’s growth shifts its challenge from attracting disaffected users to operating credible moderation and safety systems; the earlier surge in demand for trust-and-safety technology shows the adjacent capability market such platforms may need.
Third-order effects
- If repeated moderation controversies continue to create breakout distribution for alternatives, social competition may increasingly turn on governance models—feed control, enforcement transparency, and appeals—rather than product features alone.
- The trade-off remains unresolved: platforms promising minimal algorithmic intervention still need policies and enforcement capacity for harmful or misleading content, so sustained growth will depend on whether they can make that governance legible and trusted.
The trend: Perceived political bias in content moderation is becoming a catalyst for niche social-network growth and a competitive differentiator in platform governance.