Tumblr’s algorithm couldn’t tell the difference between a Renaissance painting and something explicit. So it blurred both. And in doing so, it taught a generation of internet users something uncomfortable: moderation tools, when built carelessly, don’t just filter — they erase.
You’d be scrolling through your dashboard — reblogging a grainy GIF set of Sherlock or a moody photo of a rainy street — when suddenly, a post would appear with a gray censor box and those infamous words: Tap to view. Are you sure? Are you really sure? this tumblr may contain sensitive media
So here’s to that goofy gray box. To the art it hid and the communities it hurt. To the bots that flagged a statue’s nipple but not actual harassment. To the dashboard refugees who migrated to Twitter, then Discord, then nowhere at all. You’d be scrolling through your dashboard — reblogging