TikTok’s Pro-China Tilt

Dark Arc@social.packetloss.gg to News@lemmy.world – 38 points –
nytimes.com

The times dives into an intelligence report on how TikTok's political algorithm anomalies align with the CCP's Geostrategic Objectives https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/A-Tik-Tok-ing-Timebomb_12.21.23.pdf

This report highlights major differences in the prevalence of hashtags related to subjects like Hong Kong Protests, Tainanmen Square, Tibet, the South China Sea, Taiwan, Uyghurs, Pro-Ukraine, and Pro-Isreal when compared to other major social media platforms.

Additionally the times cited a Wall Street Journal analysis (https://www.wsj.com/tech/tiktok-israel-gaza-hamas-war-a5dfa0ee) which "found evidence that TikTok was promoting extreme content, especially against Israel. (China has generally sided with Hamas.)"

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Here's a figure from the actual research the articles are describing and linked inside:

https://networkcontagion.us/wp-content/uploads/A-Tik-Tok-ing-Timebomb_12.21.23.pdf

This is based on methodology TikTok itself suggested be done, comparing posts on TikTok to Instagram.

As someone who has been neutral on the whole TikTok sale/ban issue, this is the most damning thing I’ve seen.

And I am not defending Israel here but I wonder if TikTok’s promotion of anti-Israel content is part of why young people have been so visible in demonstrating against Israel.

And I am not defending Israel here but I wonder if TikTok’s promotion of anti-Israel content is part of why young people have been so visible in demonstrating against Israel.

I've been seriously wondering this since this morning as well/I'm in a similar position.

I think you missed a crucial bit of info that makes this graph make more sense: "Normal ratios, given Instagram’s larger user base". Which explains why the control groups are the way they are.

I would worry about this more if the American social media networks didn't have a pro-corporate tilt.

I think there's a pretty strong argument that a pro-corporate tilt doesn't result in a difference in content promotion regarding Tibet, Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong, and/or Uyghur.

You could argue the US military industrial complex might push South China Sea, pro-Taiwan, pro-Ukraine, and pro-Isreal content; that seems distant enough from (e.g.) Facebook, but I'm not sure how we'd tell. We don't have a major social media platform in a place like (e.g.) Switzerland to study (granted, the way Proton is expanding they might try).

In any case, I do think it's pretty damning for TikTok's claims of independence that China's direct conflicts, Tiananmen Square and Hong Kong are basically suppressed to the point of being nil (EDIT: Tibet is also a direct conflict of sorts but isn't talked about as much from what I've seen on "western social media" and could be conditionally filtered ... there's still probably a fair bit of "Tibet" content that exists outside of the "bad for the CCP" space).

I think there’s a pretty strong argument that a pro-corporate tilt doesn’t result in a difference in content promotion regarding Tibet, Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong, and/or Uyghur.

How about a difference in content promotion regarding Israel? You know, the country the MiC makes a huge amount of money supporting?

Read past the first paragraph...

I did. My apologies, I saw pro-Taiwan, but somehow missed the pro-Israel next to it.

Okay, then yeah; I think we're in agreement more research would be needed (and difficult!).

I can't dissuade or dismiss your point ... but I am personally less convinced there is a correlation.

We also need to take into account how addressable the problems are in the current climate. To tackle pro-corporate biases, we're looking at a long quest that runs counter to the underlying fabric of our society. It's a fundamentally anti-capitalist proposition and we live in a capitalist society.

This issue with a foreign power is much smaller, and thus easier to crack. It's much less far-reaching, it's less important. But it should still lead to small gains in the improvement of the information sphere.

I find it telling that just days after this report was released TikTok changed their UI so that doing this kind of research is potentially impossible.

I just hope that the result of forcing the sale of tiktok doesn't result in Facebook owning it

There's a good chance the (current) FTC wouldn't let that happen.

I could see Microsoft or possibly Apple taking an interest. They're big players without a social media platform, that have the cash to buy and run one.

So they found less propaganda on TikTok. Good to know!