- “Censorship is a tool, but one that is often used inadvertently to silence marginalised voices” says creative founder & photographer, Rankin.
- Exhibition in partnership with Quantus Gallery June 16th-24th featuring Rankin portraits of 13 of the unfairly censored community.
- Rankin’s censored portraits of the unseen are made interactive with AR experience by Media Monks, using 8th wall.
‘The Unseen’ gives voice to hundreds of individuals and small businesses that have been unfairly censored and silenced on social media platforms.
Rankin Creative has launched an online community project spotlighting unfair censorship by using its resources to re-platform those who’ve been unfairly silenced online. The Unseen is open to anyone who has experienced Content removal, account removal, promotion/ad ban or shadow banning. The project intends to create a positive debate around this topic, to provoke change in attitudes and working practices.
“Censorship is a necessary tool to prevent fake news, protect children and more. But it is often used inadvertently to silence marginalised voices,” said Creative Founder & Photographer, Rankin.
The Unseen is specifically highlighting the breadth and severity of unfair censorship in a way that’s not been seen before. The statistics of those who have joined the community highlight the core reasons marginalised people feel they are being censored:
- FEMALE BODY & SEXISM/MISOGYNY
- RELATED EXPERIENCES 29.6%
- EXPERIENCES OF HOMO/QUEERPHOBIA 10%
- POLITICALLY RELATED EXPERIENCES 7%
- FATPHOBIA/PLUS SIZE DISCRIMINATION 5%
- ABLEISM EXPERIENCES 4%
- RACISM EXPERIENCES 4%
“It’s a continuous, frustrating game of whack-a-mole with platforms, so much so that I’ve ended up blending my PhD in the moderation of online abuse with my experiences of censorship,” says Unseen Community Member Dr Carolina Are.
The project has generated incredible interest, even at its early stages, with hundreds of people from all over the world sharing their stories and joining the discussion. The stories shared on The Unseen entry form and the posts that the entrant had censored will all be included on The Unseen website launching on the 15th of June.
“We’ve had an incredible response so far, and we’re just getting started,” said Rankin. “This is an important issue, and those affected deserve to have a voice in the policies that affect them on the platforms they love and build their businesses on.”
To launch the project, Rankin has partnered with Digital-first Quantus Gallery in Shoreditch, London to hold a public exhibition. The show will feature all the posts and several of the stories submitted by entrants, alongside portraits of 13 of the community photographed by Rankin and made Interactive by the experiential design team at Media Monks.
“We wanted to put the viewer back in control, and subvert the relationship we have with the images we see online, so working with Media Monks was ideal. I also think it’s important to show how emerging technologies like 8th Wall can be used positively, to make things fairer.” said Rankin
“We’re thrilled to be launching this project to the public, we hope the simple act of creating a database and awareness of these stories will help make a difference. But we’re far from done, we’ll be working until the system is fairer.” said the creatives driving the project Opaluke (Opal Turner and Luke Lasenby.)
The website (theunseen.site) and exhibition will be open to the public from the 16th – 24th of June at Quantus Gallery 11-29 Fashion Street, London, E1 6PX.
