the Blockout2024 movement calls to “block” celebrities “silent in the face of the genocide in Gaza”

After the boycott of Israeli products, the movement born in the United States now calls for ignoring public figures who do not take a strong enough stand in favor of the Palestinian people.

“STOP THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA”. This is the last message – in capital letters – posted on the social network X by the internationally renowned French artist DJ Snake. His tweet was posted this Monday, May 27 at 4:45 a.m., while horrific images are circulating on social networks after the bombing by Israel of a center for displaced people in Rafah which left at least 40 dead.

Like the DJ, in recent days, other celebrities have shown their support for Gaza, notably during the Cannes festival. If the actress Leïla Bekhti wore a pin representing a watermelon, a symbol of solidarity with Palestine, the model Bella Hadid wore a keffiyeh dress on the Croisette and the actress Cate Blanchett appeared on the carpet red in a black, white and green dress by Jean Paul Gaultier, the colors of the Palestinian flag…

But the personalities who speak out on this conflict remain few in number, and for some time now, they have even been singled out by a movement from the United States: “Blackout 2024”.

This movement which encourages Internet users to no longer follow celebrities on social networks who are silent on the fate of Gazans has also arrived in France. On social networks, #blockout2024 calls for “block celebrities who remain silent in the face of the genocide in Gaza”. On the Instagram page blackout2024_france, which brings together nearly 45,000 subscribers, we can read that “The movement is an international response to block those who choose to remain silent about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and derive their income and popularity from social media”. “By blocking these personalities and their companies on our networks, we are sending them a strong message: we no longer accept their indifference!”we can read.

Thus, on its Instagram account, the movement had identified, as of May 27, 264 personalities or companies to “block”. Among them, the comedians Booder, Florence Foresti and Eric Judor, the former Miss France Iris Mittenaere, the singer Zazie, the astronaut Thomas Pesquet, the influencers Lena Situations and Tibo InShape, or even athletes like Antoine Griezman, Kylian Mbappé and Zinédine Zidane.

To find out how these celebrities are chosen to be boycotted, the movement gives a little more detail on Instagram, specifying that “all stars who have not had a word, for 225 days, are boycotted: public, concrete, in their name, assumed, repeated”. He also specifies that “unsubscribing or not following them is not enough”: “By blocking them, we prevent algorithms from offering us their content in our news feed. We thus directly reduce their audience, and therefore their income,” he says.

“To be impactful this blockage must be targeted”also alerts the movement : “Blocking Jamel Debbouze, who, thanks to the views of his 2 million followers, promotes his Zenith Tour, while remaining silent on Palestine, that has an impact”assure the authors whose identity is unknown.

Recently, influencer Oceane publicly responded to calls for a boycott concerning her. Internet users have criticized him for a collaboration with the Coca-Cola brand, which they describe as“company complicit in genocide”. Reproaches to which she responded in a sarcastic video: “There is a genocide underway in Palestine, I have always been vocal (sic) about it (…) You feel helpless in the face of this situation, me too, but if you decide to make me the worst no one because I drank coke and wore Nikes, go ahead, boycott me. If it can save children from a bomb or the murder of their entire family then I will. strongly encourages you to do so.”

If certain international celebrities have sometimes seen the number of their subscribers on social networks drop, such as Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez or Beyoncé, according to France Inter which obtained data from the Reech platform, this digital anger is more discreet: 5 000 fewer subscribers for comedian Jamel Debouzze, 2,500 for Cyril Hanouna or 1,500 for videographer Squeezie. The most affected is Antoine Griezmann with no less than 50,000 fewer “followers” ​​in the space of a few weeks.