Shadow Ban
Etymology
From "shadow," meaning hidden or unseen, plus "ban." The technique originated in early online forums and bulletin boards, where it was also called "hellbanning" or "ghost banning." It re-entered wide use in the 2010s amid disputes over how social platforms suppress content without disclosure.
noun · /SHAD-oh ban/
A covert form of moderation in which a user’s posts are quietly hidden or downranked without telling them, so they keep posting into a void.
What it names
A distinctly modern powerlessness — being silenced invisibly, with no notice to appeal — and captures why users grow paranoid about unexplained drops in reach.
Example
His posts suddenly reached almost no one, and he became convinced he’d been shadow banned.
Related idea
Deplatforming is an open, announced removal; a shadow ban is its silent cousin, throttling reach while leaving the account outwardly intact.