We continually review and adjust the Shadowbanner label set to make sure it reflects how labels are actually used in practice. The goal is to reduce false positives and labeling errors, while keeping coverage strong where harm is clear.
These refinements come directly from lessons learned during day-to-day moderation work, where patterns emerge that aren’t always obvious at the start.
This update includes renames, refinements, and one new label. Renamed labels will also be retroactively applied so that older posts stay consistent with the current framework.
Updated Labels (Alphabetical)
Abuse Apologia
Defends, minimizes, or justifies abuse—such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, or child abuse—by excusing perpetrators or downplaying harm.
What’s changed:
Refined to be concise and clearly focused on excusing, minimizing, or normalizing abuse.
Why it matters:
Clarifies scope so that rhetoric defending perpetrators or trivializing harm is consistently flagged, ensuring abuse apologism doesn’t get lost in broader political debates.
Ableism
Expresses ableism through slurs, derogatory language, or mockery of people with disabilities—including insults tied to cognitive, developmental, or physical differences.
What’s changed:
Expanded scope to cover insults using disability as a point of attack, even when directed at public figures (e.g., mocking Greg Abbott for using a wheelchair).
Why it matters:
Prevents ableism from being excused just because the target is politically unpopular. Reinforces that weaponizing disability is never acceptable.
Anti-Asian Bias (formerly Anti-Asian Hatred)
Expresses anti-Asian bias, stereotypes, or Sinophobic tropes—including scapegoating and dehumanization.
What’s changed:
Renamed for accuracy and broadened to include stereotypes, Sinophobic tropes, and rhetorical ploys (e.g., comparing U.S. politicians to Mao).
Why it matters:
Captures harmful bias that doesn’t always rise to outright slurs, making sure subtler forms of anti-Asian rhetoric are still flagged.
Anti-Black Racism
Expresses anti-Black bias, slurs, or dehumanizing views—including those targeting African-Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, or Black communities worldwide.
What’s changed:
Clarified that this covers anti-Black stereotypes, tropes, and dehumanization globally.
Why it matters:
Ensures moderators apply the label broadly, not only in U.S.-specific contexts.
Note: Shadowbanner applies this label where relevant to our scope, but we strongly recommend also subscribing to Blacksky Moderation, which specializes in moderating anti-Black racism, misogynoir, and related harms.
Body Shaming
Mocks or demeans people based on body size, weight, or appearance.
What’s changed:
Clarified to include mockery, insults, or hostility based on weight, body size, or appearance.
Why it matters:
Distinguishes body-based insults from ableism, misogyny, or transphobia, while allowing co-labeling when overlaps exist.
Dearborn Scapegoating
Blames Dearborn/Muslim or “uncommitted” voters for 2024 election outcomes (including Kamala Harris’s loss), treating them as collectively responsible.
What’s changed:
Expanded to cover “uncommitted voters,” who are often targeted interchangeably with Dearborn/Muslim voters in blame narratives.
Why it matters:
Acknowledges how two terms are used against the same community, strengthening the label’s precision.
Debate Lord
Engages in bad-faith debating tactics (e.g., goalpost-shifting, sea-lioning, Red Scare/anti-socialist cudgels) to derail conversation.
What’s changed:
Refined to clarify this label covers red scare rhetoric, anti-socialist cudgels, and other contrarian tactics.
Why it matters:
Helps moderators identify bad-faith debating rooted in dismissing leftist ideologies.
Denies U.S. Genocide Role
Denies or dismisses U.S. complicity in genocide—ignoring roles in arms, aid, or diplomatic cover, or recognizing it only selectively for partisan reasons.
What’s changed:
Broadened to cover not only Gaza but also selective/partisan denial — e.g., refusing to call it genocide under Biden/Harris but suddenly recognizing it under Trump.
Why it matters:
Addresses rhetorical dishonesty and partisan laundering of U.S. complicity, ensuring accountability regardless of which administration is in power.
Gaza Aid Smear
Discredits or attacks grassroots fundraisers for Palestinians in Gaza—or those who amplify them—by portraying them as scams or support for terrorism.
What’s changed:
Narrowed to specifically cover discrediting grassroots Palestinian fundraisers and those amplifying them.
Why it matters:
Keeps scope focused on smear campaigns against direct relief efforts, rather than general debates over aid.
Gaza Disinfo Spreader
Spreads or amplifies (e.g., via reposts/boosts) disinformation that delegitimizes Palestinian suffering or evidence of war crimes (e.g., “Gazawood/Pallywood”).
What’s changed:
Expanded to explicitly include reposting/boosting disinformation.
Why it matters:
Captures the networked nature of disinfo spread, not only the source accounts.
Gaza Genocide Denier
Denies, minimizes, or deflects the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza—including refusal to use the term “genocide,” whataboutism, or claims it’s merely “war crimes.”
What’s changed:
Clarified to include softer denial tactics — minimizing, refusing to say “genocide,” or shifting the conversation with whataboutism.
Why it matters:
Ensures denial is captured even when it appears indirect or evasive.
Gaza Genocide Supporter (new)
Supports or endorses genocidal violence against Palestinians in Gaza—including framing extermination, expulsion, or 'clean out' operations as necessary or righteous.
What’s changed:
Added as a new label for posts explicitly endorsing genocidal violence.
Why it matters:
Fills a gap between denial and mockery, making sure explicit advocacy of genocide is consistently flagged.
Gaza Mockery
Mocks or trivializes the suffering, displacement, or genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
What’s changed:
Clarified to cover jokes, memes, or sarcasm that trivialize Palestinian suffering.
Why it matters:
Distinguishes mockery from denial or advocacy, ensuring all rhetorical tactics are accounted for.
Gazawood Disinfo Follower
Follows an account identified for promoting “Gazawood”-style disinformation that dismisses authentic documentation from Gaza.
What’s changed:
Kept as-is, but clarified in practice as tracking follower amplification networks.
Why it matters:
Helps surface accounts linked to denialist ecosystems, even if not posting disinfo themselves.
Gloats Over Harm
Mocks, gloats over, or takes pleasure in others’ suffering; often frames harm as deserved (“FAFO”) or blames entire communities for outcomes.
What’s changed:
Clarified to cover gloating framed as deserved or collective punishment.
Why it matters:
Flags cruelty framed as justice or moral superiority.
Israel Apologia
Justifies or defends Israeli military aggression or state violence by downplaying harm, deflecting criticism, or framing Palestinian resistance as illegitimate.
What’s changed:
Clarified to include downplaying harm, deflection, and delegitimization of resistance.
Why it matters:
Keeps apologism distinct from outright denial, ensuring consistent labeling.
Liberal Apologia (formerly Democratic Apologia)
Defends or minimizes failures by liberal/centrist parties or leaders (e.g., Democrats, Labour, Liberals) via deflection, lower expectations, or false equivalences.
What’s changed:
Renamed to broaden scope beyond U.S. Democrats.
Why it matters:
Prevents U.S.-centric framing; applies to liberal/centrist parties worldwide.
Liberal Conspiracism
Promotes conspiracy theories from a liberal/centrist perspective—such as claims that Harris secretly won, foreign powers orchestrated her loss, or protests were staged.
What’s changed:
Refined to focus on election denial, foreign interference, and protest delegitimization.
Why it matters:
Balances coverage of conspiracism across political spectrums.
Liberal Troll (formerly Resist Troll)
Engages in troll-like behavior from a liberal/centrist stance—mocking or baiting leftists in bad faith rather than debating sincerely.
What’s changed:
Renamed and narrowed to trolling/antagonism, separated from spam.
Why it matters:
Aligns with MAGA Troll as a behavioral mirror, ensuring consistency.
Misogyny
Expresses misogynistic slurs, insults, or hostility targeting women—including gender-based dismissal, mockery, or stereotypes.
What’s changed:
Clarified scope; acknowledges overlap with transphobia (trans women) and misogynoir (Black women).
Why it matters:
Ensures intersectional misogyny is labeled consistently.
Political Spammer
Floods Bluesky with repetitive political memes or low-effort content—including AI-generated memes—that derail or replace real discussion.
What’s changed:
Expanded to include AI-generated meme floods and clarified as ideology-neutral.
Why it matters:
Recognizes new spam tactics that drown out real conversation.
Sea-Lioning
Derails conversations with endless, insincere questions or demands for evidence while feigning good-faith curiosity.
What’s changed:
Clarified to emphasize insincere, endless questioning.
Why it matters:
Distinguishes question-spamming from broader bad-faith debating.
State Violence Apologia
Justifies or excuses violence by states—past or present—by downplaying harm, deflecting criticism, or portraying repression as legitimate.
What’s changed:
Expanded to cover domestic and historical state violence (e.g., sweeps of unhoused people, Trail of Tears denial).
Why it matters:
Ensures state violence is captured across time and scale.
Trans Scapegoating
Blames trans rights or visibility for electoral losses or liberal/centrist party failures—treating trans people as a political liability.
What’s changed:
Narrowed to electoral blame narratives.
Why it matters:
Keeps scapegoating distinct from broad transphobia.
Transphobia
Expresses transphobic slurs, insults, or hostility—denying trans identities, demeaning trans people, or revoking “allyship” as punishment for political disagreement.
What’s changed:
Expanded to include conditional/performative allyship.
Why it matters:
Shows that conditional “support” is still hostility.
Note: Shadowbanner applies this label where relevant to our scope, but we strongly recommend also subscribing to Asuka’s Anti-Transphobia Field, which specializes in moderating transphobia, transmisogyny, enbyphobia, and related harms.
Weaponizes Abuse
Uses false or unsubstantiated allegations of abuse—including pedojacketing—as a tactic to discredit or harm others.
What’s changed:
Clarified to emphasize false or unsubstantiated claims.
Why it matters:
Separates genuine reports from manipulative accusations.
Weaponizes Antisemitism
Uses accusations of antisemitism in bad faith to silence or delegitimize criticism of Israel, Zionism, or U.S. foreign policy.
What’s changed:
Clarified to emphasize bad-faith use of antisemitism accusations.
Why it matters:
Ensures that genuine antisemitism is still flagged under the Antisemitism label, while preventing bad-faith misuse of antisemitism accusations from silencing legitimate criticism of Israel, Zionism, or U.S. policy.
Weaponizes Racism
Misuses accusations of racism in bad faith—such as shielding powerful figures from critique or claiming “reverse racism” against white people.
What’s changed:
Expanded to cover both politician-shielding and “reverse racism” claims.
Why it matters:
Catches the two most common bad-faith misuses of racism discourse.
Unchanged Labels
- Antisemitism
- Homophobia
- Islamophobia
- Latino Scapegoating
- Leftist Scapegoating
- MAGA Troll
- Racism
Conclusion
Each of these adjustments reflects how labels have been applied in practice since we began operating a couple of months ago. They aim to make moderation more consistent, reduce false positives, and sharpen our ability to capture harmful behavior without overreach.
We’ll continue to monitor how these labels function in real-world use, and refine them further as new patterns emerge.
