Summary

A new study from Rutgers University’s Network Contagion Research Institute claims TikTok’s algorithm limits anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) content compared to platforms like Instagram and YouTube, despite higher user engagement with such posts.

The study also suggests TikTok users express more favorable views of China after prolonged use.

TikTok criticized the findings as flawed due to the use of simulated accounts.

The study precedes a Supreme Court hearing on whether the U.S. can ban TikTok, amid national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership and potential CCP influence.

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    If only there was some kind of corporate legal reporting requirements for moderation and algorithms.

    Well lets just ban foreign owned media, problem solved.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      The worst part is that Tiktok was going to enter into an agreement do exactly that before they said ban or nothing. It would have been a great test that could eventually be applied to all social media comoanies.

  • toomanypancakes@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Exactly, you should only use platforms that are vehicles for good old US of A propaganda. The ruling class surely has your best interests in mind, let them control the information you can access!

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Why are you so desperate to continue to receive Chinese propaganda? TikTok ain’t shit, it’s a 10 second video hosting service.

      Yes we are exposed to plenty of American propaganda so why fight to keep Chinese propaganda in the mix?

      The ruling class doesn’t have our best interests in mind, but the CCP does?

      • leftytighty@slrpnk.net
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        1 day ago

        It’s not a compelling argument but there’s an argument to be made that even just having more propaganda sources in the mix (as opposed to only American propaganda) is healthier than not.

        Homogenizing and normalizing only American propaganda globally is kinda the status quo

    • eldavi@lemmy.ml
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      3 days ago

      it’s odd that they defined chinese propaganda as being less anti-chinese compared to american social media platforms.

      • Grapho@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        As long as Americans stay so rabidly sinophobic, that might as well be the actual definition.

  • x00z@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Well consider me surprised.

    Or not.

    Yeah probably the opposite of surprised.

  • yogurt@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    Their definition of “anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) content” is dialed way up into treating “China will fall in 7 days” like good content and anything less than that is Chinese propaganda. If they search for Tienanmen Square and get “pictures of the square without mention of the massacre” they classify that as “pro-CCP”. If they get “unbiased historical content” or news coverage about bad shit China does they call that “neutral”.

    They also don’t do anything to compensate for Tiktok’s overall censorship, they went looking for massacre and genocide on the platform where people say corn and unalive, they don’t compare how Tiktok deals with China vs any other subject.

    They did a survey of how pro-China people are and how much they use Tiktok, but don’t do anything to adjust for Tiktok being publicly associated with China. They could’ve put a question in the survey about whether people were boycotting Tiktok for anti-CCP reasons but didn’t, which looks like they were fishing for a result.

    I remember NCRI from back when they did the study comparing Antifa to ISIS, and they’re still doing weird shit like that, if you like Luigi you’re “Killing with Applause”, colleges being too woke and anti-genocide is the “Corruption of the American Mind”, if you do DEI it’s your fault white people are racist.

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    There is minimal content I see that is at all related to China. The fact of the matter is the government wants to keep the public stupid and under informed. Tik tok is a great way to get information out and they hate it. Yes it is dangerous but no one cares about X or Facebook. They are far worse imo.

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Except Douyin limits the amount of hours per day a person can consume and limits the content to positive and educational content that has clear benefits vs the brain rot that is the majority of TikTok in comparison.

  • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
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    3 days ago

    What we really need is for everything to be American/western propaganda. Can’t possibly have anything else.

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      We are exposed to American propaganda so why fight to also be exposed to Chinese propaganda too? It’s not like TikTok creates special content or does anything special at all.

      You clearly don’t like propaganda and for good reason, you recognize your own state’s propaganda as bad yet you want to keep a foreign state’s propaganda?

    • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 days ago

      I checked your search history to see if you fit the obvious stereotype, and I was disappointed but not surprised.

      “Ah yes, they think China propaganda bad. Thus, they must think w e s t e r n propaganda good. Now I will skewer them with my wit.”