Is TikTok rigged to show pro-chinese content?

Question

I've installed TikTok for the first time on my iPhone. Besides being shown lots of "funny" shorts, i've noticed a heavy bias towards political content mixed with funny shorts which is usually pro russian (supportive of putin), xenophobic (supportive of far-right parties) or pro police. Since there is no way the content algorithm could have derived the decision to show me these political shorts on some kind of profile tracking (i don't search for these kind of topics on the internet nor do they fit my own political views) i'm left wondering if the TikTok algorithm is rigged to influence the political view of its mostly young user base to align with Chinese foreign interests. Are you aware of any studies done in this regard?

accrual · Accepted Answer

TikTok isn't that much different from Reddit, blogs, Discord servers of your choosing, etc. It delivers content you have interest in. Whatever you spend the most time watching, liking, reading/commenting on, searching for, etc. is what will be delivered, because the app's goal is to keep you in the app. If one gets something political or empty in value, skip it or press and hold to select Not Interested. Searching for specific topics and following creators will quickly create a more curated feed.There's absolutely rigging involved, and some things that "go viral" are hand picked to do so. But that doesn't mean the users are powerless consumers which have no choice over what is shown on the FYP. My personal feed is apolitical.

theGeatZhopa · Answer

One thing is that TikTok uses your search and view history for delivering the videos most ROI for you.
Other thing is what it's do, when no history is accessible:
Just use the most viewed Videos as start. Or, may be conclude out of other users local to you, what might be of interest in the very moment and the very place.
User settoschool is right. Anti China Propaganda is where you think of being influenced by the Chinese propaganda in the first place, rather assuming a "simple" algorithm that shows what happens and what is watched around you.
Might be all around are also afraid by the Chinese?

getwiththeprog · Answer

TikTok is smarter than you think. It knows what you are interested in, and in your case it is evident that you have a 'thing' for "political content mixed with funny shorts which is usually pro russian (supportive of putin), xenophobic (supportive of far-right parties) or pro police"
You see on Tik Tok what you choose to see! When I look at people watching Tik Tok on the bus, I mainly see kids watching advertisments disguised as content.
Dig a bit deeper to see how Tik Tok works. You will find that the algorithm is running with you in real time and you choose what you see.

senttoschool · Answer

It might be good to get some pro-Chinese stories. After all, you're only getting pro-America content right now. Balanced views./semi-serious sarcasm

Hatrix · Answer

All TikTok shows me is people doing stupid things or women shaking their boobs or butts. No political content as far as I can tell.