“Why am I shadow banned?” - LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne alleges content throttling by TikTok, limiting her audience reach by millions

Olivia Dunne is an LSU gymnast with a massive online following. Over her short career, Dunne's posts have been viewed millions of times. However, according to new accusations levied by the starlet, at least one of her platforms is responsible for a decrease in engagement.

Olivia Dunne rose to stardom on TikTok, a video-sharing app with over 7.8 million followers. During the COVID-19 blackout in 2020, she began releasing footage of her gymnastic exercises. Her fame has skyrocketed since then.

After noticing that her post engagement on TikTok was down significantly, Dunne took to the platform to ask, "Why am I shadow banned?"

"Shadowbanning" refers to the practice by various platforms of limiting how many accounts can view a post.

Olivia Dunne asked TikTok about her post engagement

Although the problem was eventually attributed to a "glitch," the episode elicited a strong reaction from Dunne's fans. According to reports, the 21-year-old earns around $1 million each year, and engagement on her postings is a massive driver of her popularity and name recognition.

Earlier this year, Olivia Dunne confirmed her relationship with pitcher Paul Skenes. Skenes posted a 12-2 record alongside a 1.69 ERA in his final season pitching at LSU. After Paul Skenes won the College World Series for LSU this summer, Skenes was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with their first overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft.

"Olivia Dunne gives intimate look at NYC date night with boyfriend Paul Skenes" - New York Post

Olivia Dunne's post-engagement on social media

A 2021 NCAA rule change that allowed student-athletes to gain income from their name, image, and likeness had massive positive effects on Dunne. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Dunne had received a $50,000 payment for making a single social media post.

Although the New Jersey native has benefitted tremendously from her fame and wealth, it has not come without downsides. Dunne has claimed that she required a full-time security detail, and no longer attends in-person lectures at LSU, citing safety concerns.

For most of us, seeing our post-engagement decrease would be a relatively small issue. However, for Dunne, her income and livelihood are dependent on clicks and views.

With her graduation now months away, fans are excited to see what comes next for the young star and her MLB-bound boyfriend Paul Skenes.