TikTok suppresses anti-China content on the platform across the world, finds study

A recent study from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) at Rutgers University has raised concerns about TikTok’s approach to content related to China’s human rights abuses. According to the research, videos condemning or negatively depicting these issues are more difficult to find on TikTok compared to rival platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

This finding suggests that US TikTok users may be receiving a skewed or incomplete picture when searching for key terms related to China’s controversial history.

TikTok’s Algorithm and pro-China content
The study involved the creation of 24 new accounts on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, mimicking the experience of American teenagers signing up for these social media platforms. When researchers searched for terms often associated with Chinese human rights abuses, such as “Tiananmen,” “Tibet,” and “Uyghur,” they found that TikTok’s algorithm displayed a higher percentage of positive, neutral, or irrelevant content than its competitors.

In particular, TikTok returned fewer “anti-China” results, defined by the researchers as content that highlights issues like the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibetan liberation, or the plight of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Joel Finkelstein, NCRI’s director and chief science officer, noted that TikTok was particularly effective at crowding out accurate information about China’s human rights record.

The study found that people who spent three or more hours daily on TikTok were more likely to hold positive views about China’s human rights situation compared to non-users, further suggesting that the platform’s content curation could be influencing public perception.

TikTok’s ongoing controversy
TikTok has pushed back against the study’s findings, arguing that the research does not accurately reflect real user experiences. A spokesperson for the platform criticized the study as flawed and pointed out that the creation of new accounts and targeted keyword searches do not mirror the typical user journey on the app.

TikTok also highlighted that some of the incidents mentioned in the study occurred long before the platform was established, and thus the content may not be as prevalent.

Despite these defences, TikTok has been under intense scrutiny in the US, where concerns about the app’s potential to spread pro-China messaging have been a significant factor in legislative efforts to ban the platform. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, to divest from the app by January 19, 2024, or face a ban in the US.

The study builds on previous NCRI research, which found that TikTok’s algorithm might amplify or suppress content depending on its alignment with Chinese government interests. This earlier report has been widely cited by US politicians who argue that TikTok poses a national security threat.

However, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, and other executives have repeatedly denied allegations that the app is used for Chinese propaganda. They have also taken legal action against the US government to challenge the ban, arguing that the claims lack substantial evidence.

Uyghur, Xinjiang & Tibet: Too hot to handle
To conduct their analysis, NCRI researchers searched for more than 3,400 videos related to terms like “Uyghur,” “Xinjiang,” “Tibet,” and “Tiananmen” across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. They reviewed the first 300 videos displayed for each keyword and categorized the content as pro-China, anti-China, neutral, or irrelevant. The classification process involved subjective judgment by human reviewers, which the researchers acknowledged as a potential source of bias.

Despite efforts to minimize interpretative differences, the study’s authors cautioned that their findings should be viewed in the context of these subjective classifications. They also noted that while their research suggests a pattern in how TikTok handles content about China, it does not provide definitive proof that the platform’s algorithm has been intentionally manipulated by the Chinese government or TikTok employees.

The NCRI study raises important questions about the role of social media platforms in shaping public perception, especially concerning sensitive topics like human rights abuses. While TikTok has disputed the study’s methodology and conclusions, the findings contribute to ongoing debates about the platform’s influence and its potential risks to US national security.