from Heritage Foundation,
5/8/24:
TikTok is a Chinese Communist Party propaganda and espionage asset with tremendous ability to shape political discourse.
While the TikTok divestment bill was pending before Congress, the platform used in-app messages to mobilize thousands of its users to oppose the legislation.
Further action is needed by Congress and state governments to curtail the platform’s political manipulation ahead of the 2024 election.
Will facts about China’s tyranny and military aggressiveness that are discussed by political candidates be considered “misinformation?” Will other election information considered harmful to liberals on everything from the security crisis at our border to the deep involvement of China in fentanyl smuggling into the United States be considered “misinformation?”
>>> Don’t Let Big Tech Influence the Elections Yet Again This Year
We already know the answers. A 2023 report by our Heritage Foundation colleague, Kara Frederick, notes that TikTok suppresses or boosts content in service of Beijing’s political agenda. Leaked documents, dating back to 2019, reveal that TikTok instructed its moderators to censor videos referencing Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or ostracized religious groups, such as the Falun Gong.
During Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019, searches for #hongkong yielded a multiplicity of protest-related content on platforms such as Twitter (now X). But on TikTok, similar searches surfaced what one article characterized as “playful selfies, food photos and sing alongs.” This is by design.
TikTok can manually control what “goes viral” on its platform and can manipulate user feeds to favor political narratives that suit its values and interests.
More From Heritage Foundation: