A newly updated study concludes that the popular Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok suppresses anti-China content and influences user opinion on the communist country’s human rights record and society, likely manipulating its algorithm.
The study from researchers from Rutgers University and the Network Contagion Research Institute, follows preliminary findings from the group released in August and is now backed by more evidence than before.
The findings are set to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Social Psychology, as the embattled social media app faces a forced sale to continue operating in the United States. The company is currently challenging the law passed by Congress earlier this year that would ban the app if it doesn’t cut ties with its Chinese owners, ByteDance, before January 19, 2025.
President-elect Donald Trump has also injected himself in the case in an attempt to delay the law from taking effect. The president-elect credits the video-sharing app with his electoral gains among young voters in the 2024 election and has spoken favorably of the platform leading up to his inauguration.
“We did go on TikTok and we had a great response with billions of views,” Trump said in a speech at AmericaFest, a conference hosted by Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action in December, shortly before seeking to intervene in the case. […]
— Read More: justthenews.com