Extremists used TikTok to promote violence

Facebook and YouTube roles as potential breeding grounds for hate speech and real-world violence. But as young people turn away from their parents’ social media networks to newer upstarts, these platforms like TikTok are emerging as sources of concern and potential radicalization.

TikTok’s application layout and algorithms can unintentionally aid individuals’ efforts to promote violent extremist content. Its algorithm is so good that before you know it, you’re on a domestic violent extremism spiral.

A top TikTok executive told British lawmakers last year that the app had previously censored content related to what she called “the Uyghur situation” in an effort to keep conflict off the platform. Beijing’s repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities living in China has drawn condemnation from human rights groups.