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UpScrolled: The Social Media Reset People Have Been Waiting For
1-28-2026
As confidence in Big Tech platforms continues to erode, a quiet but significant shift is underway. In the United States alone, TikTok uninstalls have surged by an estimated 150% following recent platform changes and its U.S. acquisition by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. Concerns around censorship, opaque moderation, and corporate influence have once again pushed users to ask a familiar question: who actually controls our digital public square?
Into this moment steps UpScrolled, a new Australian-built social media platform that has rapidly climbed to the top of the U.S. Google Play Store and App Store rankings, becoming one of the most downloaded social networking apps in the country. Founded by Palestinian-Australian technologist Issam Hijazi, UpScrolled is being hailed not just as another alternative to TikTok, X, or Meta — but as a serious attempt to rebuild social media around justice, transparency, and user control.
A Timely Rise Amid Platform Fatigue
The mass migration away from TikTok is not happening in a vacuum. Over the past several years, users across the political and cultural spectrum have reported shadowbanning, selective amplification, unexplained account restrictions, and algorithmic manipulation that appears driven by commercial or political agendas rather than fairness.
Following Larry Ellison’s acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations, skepticism intensified. While some welcomed regulatory clarity, others feared deeper corporate entrenchment and further consolidation of influence over online speech. The result has been a surge of users actively searching for platforms that are not just different, but principled.
UpScrolled’s sudden rise suggests it has tapped directly into that demand.
Built by Experience — and Frustration
Issam Hijazi is not a startup dilettante chasing trends. With decades of experience at companies such as IBM, Oracle, and Hitachi, he understands how large-scale systems, enterprise software, and algorithms actually work — and how they can be misused.
The idea for UpScrolled crystallized in late 2023, as global events unfolded and Hijazi watched important stories vanish from mainstream feeds while sensationalism and misinformation flourished.
“Social media had stopped being social,” Hijazi explains. “Authentic voices were drowned out, communities were fragmented, and visibility was no longer earned — it was granted by hidden systems no one could question.”
Rather than accept that reality, he built an alternative.
Unfiltered by Design — Not by Neglect
UpScrolled’s core promise is deceptively simple: every post deserves a fair chance to be seen.
Unlike its competitors, the platform explicitly rejects:
• Shadowbanning
• Hidden throttling
• Pay-to-play reach
• Undisclosed political or commercial prioritization
Its algorithms are designed to be explainable, not mystical. Moderation rules are clearly defined and applied evenly, not selectively enforced behind closed doors. Influence, on UpScrolled, comes with accountability — not insider access.
This philosophy has resonated with creators, activists, small businesses, and everyday users alike.
Prominent voices such as Omar Suleiman have publicly endorsed the platform, urging users to download it and calling it the realization of long-discussed ideals around justice-driven, agenda-free algorithms.
“We’ve always talked about building algorithms that are fair, justice-driven, unbound by agendas,” Suleiman noted. “This is it.”
Why UpScrolled Is Different — and Better
What sets UpScrolled apart is not just what it criticizes, but what it actively builds.
1. Transparency Over Manipulation
Meta, X, and TikTok rely on proprietary algorithms that users can neither inspect nor challenge. UpScrolled, by contrast, is built around clarity. Ranking decisions are explainable, and moderation outcomes are accountable.
2. User Power, Not Corporate Capture
Most platforms monetize attention at any cost, shaping feeds to maximize outrage, addiction, and ad revenue. UpScrolled is explicitly designed to put power back into the hands of users, creators, and communities — not advertisers or shareholders.
3. No Agenda Engineering
Where competitors have repeatedly been accused of political bias or selective censorship, UpScrolled states its position clearly: it does not push political, commercial, or ideological agendas. Rules are content-neutral and applied evenly.
4. Fair Reach for New Voices
On established platforms, visibility is often locked behind legacy followings or paid promotion. UpScrolled allows organic growth without gatekeepers, giving new creators a genuine chance to be discovered.
5. Trust as Infrastructure
Trust is not a branding slogan on UpScrolled — it is treated as core infrastructure. By eliminating hidden penalties and undisclosed amplification, the platform rebuilds confidence between users and the system itself.
More Than an App — A Digital Justice Project
UpScrolled describes itself as “the foundation for a digital ecosystem that puts power back into the hands of the people.” That language may sound ambitious, but its early traction suggests it is meeting a real, unmet need.
At a time when digital spaces increasingly feel controlled, surveilled, and monetized beyond recognition, UpScrolled offers something rare: a platform that takes users at their word.
Its rapid adoption in the U.S., despite being founded in Australia and launched without the backing of Big Tech capital, underscores a growing global appetite for platforms rooted in ethics rather than extraction.
The Road Ahead
No new social platform is without challenges. Scaling while maintaining fairness, resisting political and commercial pressure, and sustaining growth without compromising values will test UpScrolled in the months ahead.
But its early success — and the context in which it has emerged — suggest this is not a fleeting protest download. It is part of a broader reckoning with how power, speech, and community function online.
As users uninstall platforms that no longer feel trustworthy, UpScrolled is positioning itself not just as an alternative, but as a course correction.
For those who believe the internet can still be a place of authenticity, justice, and real connection, UpScrolled is making a compelling case: this is what social media was supposed to be.
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