It is not a direct penalty, but the effect can feel like one. When an account shifts to a completely different topic, the existing audience often stops engaging because the content no longer matches why they followed in the first place. The algorithm picks up on that drop in engagement and starts showing the posts to fewer people. Rebuilding relevance in a new direction takes time and patience, and some of the old audience may never come back. Is switching niches worth the risk for an account that has already built real traction?