Kenyan content creators are sounding the alarm after a wave of unexplained video removals on TikTok left many questioning whether the platform had come under government pressure.
The complaints surfaced on Friday, November 13, with multiple creators reporting that videos were being taken down almost immediately after being posted, leaving them confused and frustrated.
Is TikTok removing videos?
Creator Mokaya was among the most vocal, expressing serious concern about what the removals could mean for local content creators just starting to build their followings.
“I might even uninstall that app because the moment you post it is removed within a few minutes. I don’t know what happened. Did the government intervene?
The government needs to help us. You want to finish (our budding careers) and we have not yet started,” Mokaya said.
Another creator, known as The News Guy, shared a specific experience of having two of his videos taken down.
One featured a Bungoma teenager living with a skin condition, identified as Bryson Makokha, while the other covered a matatu sacco.
“I think I will have to share my stories without showing you photos because TikTok is having a crackdown. I pulled a video on Bryson Makokha the Bungoma teenager with a skin condition and it was pulled down. Another video on a matatu sacco was also pulled down. I do not understand,” he said.
The creators’ concerns quickly drew responses from their followers, with many relating to the experience or sharing their own opinions on TikTok’s content policies.
@gruppomada:
“Authenticity, guys.”
@africansteam simply noted:
“New rules.”
@shaela.barista said:
“I have never loved TikTok. I don’t even have an account.”
@lyfofchii added a lighter note:
“But the content on TikTok is so unhinged! 😂 People openly talk about things we can barely comprehend.”
@ushaijiuliza admitted:
“I thought it was just me.”
Neither TikTok nor the Kenyan government had issued any public statement regarding the reported removals at the time the creators raised their concerns.
