TikTok has faced accusations of cyberbullying, damaging children's brains and pushing Chinese propaganda, but it now faces a new claim: It has a "Nazi problem." Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are sharing Hitler-related propaganda and recruiting new members on TikTok, and the platform's algorithm is "promoting" the content, said Wired.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) uncovered a network of 200 accounts that produce videos promoting Nazism or use Nazi symbols in their profiles. Researchers from the global think tank said in a report that accounts were gathering "tens of millions of views" on the platform with messages about Holocaust denial, the glorification of Hitler, and "Nazism as a solution to contemporary issues." There were also posts expressing support for white supremacist mass shooters, including footage of their crimes.
According to the report, TikTok is "failing to take down violative videos and accounts" even when the content is reported by users. In fact, accounts and videos promoting Nazism are "algorithmically amplified," said the researchers, with TikTok quickly recommending such content to users engaging with similar far-right hate speech.
The ISD's findings show that a "small number of violent extremists" can "wreak havoc on large platforms due to adversarial asymmetry," said Adam Hadley, the founder and executive director of Tech Against Terrorism. That dynamic "underscores the need for cross-platform threat intelligence supported by improved AI-powered content moderation." A TikTok spokesperson said, "Hateful behavior, organizations and their ideologies have no place on TikTok, and we remove more than 98% of this content before it is reported to us." |