![]() ![]() TikTok said in a statement last week that it had removed more than 925,000 videos in the conflict region for “violating our policies around violence, hate speech, misinformation, and terrorism, including content promoting Hamas”, and millions of more posts globally. TikTok did not provide a comment when contacted by Al Jazeera but has previously stated that it “stands against terrorism” and removes hateful and violent content. “Because the TikTok narrative is now so anti-Israel, the engagement flywheel encourages creators to support that narrative because it’s getting the most attention, and creating anti-Israel content helps them increase their following.” Duelling hashtags “When I engaged with one post on TikTok supporting opposing views, my entire feed became aggressively anti-Israel,” he said, adding it was as if he was “told to see this war with Israel being the evil side”. Morris Jr expressed alarm that the hashtag “#standwithpalestine” had three billion views, compared with 200 million for “#standwithisrael”. Last month, American venture capitalist Jeff Morris Jr wrote a lengthy series of posts on X alleging that the app’s algorithm was corrupting young people by swaying them from the traditionally pro-Israel stance of most Americans. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, TikTok’s influence has been thrust back into the public arena amid scrutiny of the prominence of pro-Palestinian content. ![]() TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has long been in the crosshairs of US lawmakers over claims that the app promotes Beijing’s agenda, including by suppressing content on sensitive issues like Taiwan and the repression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.ĭemocrats and Republicans introduced several bills aimed at banning or restricting TikTok, but those efforts have stalled due to free speech concerns. US Senator Josh Hawley has called for a ban on TikTok Rubio said last month that TikTok was among a number of platforms that had become “cesspools of misinformation and indoctrination” and a vehicle for “brainwashing”. “Analysts have attributed this disparity to the ubiquity of anti-Israel content on TikTok, where most young internet users get their information about the world,” Hawley said. Hawley cited a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll in which 51 percent of Americans aged 18-24 said that Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel could be justified by Palestinians’ grievances, in contrast to older Americans who overwhelmingly back Israel. Israel’s unfolding war with Hamas is a crucial test case,” Hawley said in a letter to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday. “While data security issues are paramount, less often discussed is TikTok’s power to radically distort the world picture that America’s young people encounter. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 News organisations reject allegations of complicity in October 7 attacks list 2 of 4 Portugal’s president calls snap elections in March after PM resigns list 3 of 4 Former Biden campaign staffers call for Israel-Hamas ceasefire list 4 of 4 Israel strikes Gaza’s biggest hospital complex, health officials say end of list
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