Can UpScrolled Keep Up With a Surge in Users?
From Uncanny Valley | WIRED by WIRED
April 7, 2026 · 40 min
About this episode
Issam Hijazi discusses the rise of his social media platform UpScrolled amidst controversies surrounding censorship and user growth.
Last year, Issam Hijazi launched UpScrolled after users decried censorship and shadow-banning on other platforms. When TikTok transferred ownership of its US operations to American investors, UpScrolled's user base soared. Issam joins Kate to talk about his hopes for the new social media platform - and respond to controversy. Join WIRED’s best and brightest on Uncanny Valley as they dissect the collision of tech, politics, finance, and business, from Alexis Ohanian’s newest tech venture to the effects of inaccurate information from artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on social protests. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
People in this episode
Host: Kate
Guest: Issam Hijazi
Topics covered
- social media
- censorship
- user growth
- tech controversy
- politics
- finance
- business
Keywords
- UpScrolled
- Issam Hijazi
- TikTok
- censorship
- social media
- AI
- tech controversy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: TikTok, WIRED, UpScrolled, Alexis Ohanian, AI
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