TikTok says it does not 'take sides' in the Israel conflict

TikTok said it does not "push" one side or the other of an issue, after some US lawmakers sought a nationwide ban on the app arguing that the platform "promotes" pro-Palestinian content.

“Our recommendation algorithm does not ‘take sides’ and has strict measures in place to prevent manipulation,” TikTok said in a blog post on Monday (Nov. 13). “Blank comparisons of hashtags are seriously flawed and misrepresent activity on TikTok.”

TikTok logo. Photo: Reuters

When Republicans in the US Congress stepped up efforts to ban the app in the US earlier this month, they noted that the number of TikTok posts with the hashtag #freepalestine was much higher than those with #standwithisrael.

In a letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senator Josh Hawley pointed to a poll showing that a significant number of young Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 find Hamas' actions justified (51%).

Hawley said this could be due to anti-Israel content on TikTok, where most young internet users get their information. TikTok, which has 150 million users in the US, is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance.

Republican Mike Gallagher, in an essay for a blog called The Free Press, said TikTok is “brainwashing our youth against our country and our allies,” adding that the app carries “rampant pro-Hamas propaganda.”

Social media platforms have faced increased scrutiny over content related to the Israel-Hamas war, and as fake news floods social media about the war, observers are calling for more regulatory pressure on tech companies.

In response to the criticism, TikTok said there had been "misinformation and misrepresentation" about how the platform works, adding that the hashtag was added by content creators, not the social media platform.

According to TikTok, while the #standwithisrael tag may be associated with fewer videos than #freepalestine, it has 68% more views per video in the US, meaning more people are watching the content.

Both TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, ban content promoting Hamas.

TikTok said it removed more than 925,000 videos from the conflict zone between October 7 and 31 for violating its policies on violence, hate speech, misinformation and terrorism, including content promoting Hamas.

TikTok also noted that the quantitative difference between Palestine-related content and Israel-related content is similar on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

On Facebook, 11 million posts were tagged with the hashtag #freepalestine, 39 times more than those with #standwithisrael. According to Instagram data, pro-Palestine hashtags were also found on 6 million Instagram posts – many times more than pro-Israel hashtags.

TikTok also said there is a growing trend of support for Palestine among Americans born after 1980, citing Pew Research surveys.

“Data shows that this support is not new and was growing before TikTok was created, so it would be unrealistic to attribute such broad sentiment trends to a single media channel like TikTok,” the platform said.

Mai Van (according to Reuters, CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tiktok-noi-khong-dung-ve-ben-nao-trong-xung-dot-israel--gaza-post272495.html