Emmy-winning Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda said on Thursday that her TikTok account was restored hours after she publicly announced that the platform had permanently banned her, though restrictions on its visibility remain in place.
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Speaking to Al Jazeera, Owda said she regained access to her account but users must now type her full username into the search bar to find it. She added that TikTok informed her that many of her videos had been marked “ineligible for recommendation,” significantly limiting their reach.
January 22nd: TikTok acquisition closed and finalized
January 28th: Bisan Owda permanently banned from TikTok pic.twitter.com/FqEOcHiH9C
— WearThePeace (@WearThePeaceCo) January 28, 2026
Owda described TikTok as a vital platform for her work, saying it is widely used by young people and less restrictive than other social media platforms. “The youth are the future. They are the main pillars of all these systems,” she said, warning that a lack of awareness among young audiences could leave them vulnerable to manipulation.
The journalist argued that social media has disrupted decades of what she described as Israeli dominance over global narratives. “Israeli propaganda succeeded for 76 years,” she said, adding that independent reporting on digital platforms has helped expose realities on the ground. “Not saying the truth, not resisting, not fighting back for our rights and our lives — it’s not an option anymore.”
Owda’s TikTok account, which has 1.4 million followers, was visible again on Thursday, although no new posts appeared beyond September 2025. A day earlier, she had announced on Instagram that the account had been “banned forever,” saying she had spent four years building her presence on the platform.
She said she anticipated the ban after comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighting TikTok’s strategic importance in shaping public opinion. Owda also pointed to remarks by TikTok’s US CEO Adam Presser on moderating terms such as “Zionist” under hate-speech policies.
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On Thursday, Owda announced she had joined the Palestinian-owned platform UpScrolled, which is gaining traction as a censorship-free alternative. The app has seen a surge in downloads across the US, UK and Australia, and has been praised by civil rights groups for protecting free expression.