- cross-posted to:
- usnews@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- usnews@beehaw.org
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.)”
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.