A recent study by Rutgers University’s Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) has raised concerns about TikTok’s handling of content related to China’s human rights abuses. According to the study, videos condemning or negatively portraying these topics are harder to find on TikTok than on rival platforms like Instagram and YouTube.

This finding suggests that TikTok users in the U.S. may be getting a distorted or incomplete picture when searching for key terms related to China’s controversial history.

TikTok’s algorithm and pro-Chinese content
The study created 24 new accounts on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to mimic the experiences of American teenagers logging into those social media platforms. When researchers searched for terms commonly associated with Chinese human rights abuses, such as “Tiananmen,” “Tibet” and “Uighurs,” they found that TikTok’s algorithm showed a higher percentage of positive, neutral or irrelevant content than its competitors.

In particular, TikTok produced fewer “anti-Chinese” results. The researchers define this as content that highlights topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, the liberation of Tibet or the plight of the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

Joel Finkelstein, director and chief scientific officer of the NCRI, noted that TikTok is particularly effective at suppressing accurate information about the human rights situation in China.

The study found that people who spent three or more hours a day on TikTok were more likely to have positive views on China’s human rights situation compared to non-users, further suggesting that the platform’s content curation may influence public perceptions.

TikTok’s ongoing controversy
TikTok has dismissed the study’s findings, arguing that the research does not accurately reflect users’ actual experiences. A spokesperson for the platform criticized the study as flawed, pointing out that new account creation and targeted keyword searches do not reflect the typical user journey on the app.

TikTok also stressed that some of the incidents mentioned in the study occurred long before the platform was founded and therefore the content may not have been as widely shared.

Despite these defenses, TikTok has been under intense scrutiny in the U.S. Concerns about the app’s potential to spread pro-China messages have been a major factor in legislative efforts to ban the platform. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, to withdraw from the app by Jan. 19, 2024, or face a ban in the U.S.

The study builds on previous research by the NCRI that found that TikTok’s algorithm could amplify or suppress content depending on whether it aligns with the Chinese government’s interests. That earlier report has been widely cited by U.S. politicians who argue that TikTok poses a national security threat.

However, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and other executives have repeatedly denied allegations that the app is being used for Chinese propaganda. They have also taken legal action against the U.S. government to challenge the ban, arguing that the allegations lack solid evidence.

Uighurs, Xinjiang and Tibet: Too hot to touch
For their analysis, NCRI researchers searched TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for more than 3,400 videos related to terms such as “Uighurs,” “Xinjiang,” “Tibet” and “Tiananmen.” They reviewed the first 300 videos that appeared for each keyword and categorized the content as pro-China, anti-China, neutral or irrelevant. The classification process involved subjective judgments by human reviewers, which the researchers acknowledged as a potential source of bias.

Despite efforts to minimize differences in interpretation, the study’s authors cautioned that their findings should be viewed in the context of these subjective classifications. They also pointed out that while their research suggests a pattern in how TikTok handles content about China, it does not provide definitive proof that the platform’s algorithm was intentionally manipulated by the Chinese government or TikTok employees.

The NCRI study raises important questions about the role of social media platforms in shaping public perceptions, especially on sensitive issues such as human rights abuses. While TikTok disputes the study’s methodology and conclusions, the findings contribute to ongoing debates about the platform’s influence and its potential risks to U.S. national security.