Bisan Owda regains TikTok account after brief ban

Award-winning Palestinian journalist bisan owda says she has regained access to her TikTok account, one day after reporting that the video-sharing platform had banned her profile.

TikTok account reinstated after international attention

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Thursday, bisan owda said she believes international media coverage and pressure from nongovernmental organisations helped restore her TikTok account. She noted, however, that users now need to type her full username to locate the account on the platform.

Owda also said TikTok informed her that many of her video posts are now “ineligible for recommendation”.

Account visible but inactive since September

Al Jazeera confirmed on Friday that bisan owda’s TikTok account, which has 1.4 million followers, is visible again. No new posts from the Gaza-based journalist have appeared since September 2025.

Owda gained global recognition for sharing daily video diaries from Gaza, where she often addressed viewers by saying, “It’s Bisan from Gaza – and I’m still alive,” during Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

International recognition and awards

A contributor to Al Jazeera’s AJ+, bisan owda has received major journalism honours, including the Emmy, Peabody and Edward R Murrow awards, for her reporting from Palestine.

Context of account removal and ongoing violence

When alerting followers to the removal of her account on Wednesday, bisan owda pointed to remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is suspected of war crimes in Gaza, saying he hoped the purchase of TikTok “goes through, because it can be consequential”.

Despite a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli attacks continue. Last week, Israeli strikes killed three Palestinian journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 207 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, with the “vast majority” killed by Israeli forces.

The account removal also coincided with Israel’s top court again postponing a decision on whether foreign journalists should be allowed to report independently from Gaza.

TikTok response

Al Jazeera contacted TikTok for comment, but the company said it does not comment on specific accounts. A TikTok spokesperson told The New Arab that bisan owda’s account was “temporarily restricted” in September due to concerns about a potential impersonation risk. After further review, the account was reinstated and is now operating normally, according to the spokesperson.

bisan owda has regained access to her TikTok account following a brief ban, though with reduced visibility and recommendation limits, highlighting ongoing challenges faced by Palestinian journalists online.