Refuting claims that the platform has promoted content in favor of Palestine, the short-form video app TikTok claimed on November 02, 2023 that a hashtag showing support for Israel in its fight against Hamas had received more views than a pro-Palestine hashtag.
The new information is released at a time when TikTok is under growing criticism for the way that its application suggests content that is connected to the ongoing violence. A number of lawmakers have recently increased their demands for the app's prohibition in response to claims that TikTok's algorithm favours pro-Palestinian video more heavily than other content. TikTok stated in an update that these assertions were the result of "unsound analysis" of their data.
TikTok stated, "Unfortunately, some misinformed commentators have mischaracterized our work to stop hate speech and misinformation about the Israeli-Gaza conflict, particularly as it relates to antisemitism. In recent days, there has been a lack of reliable analysis of TikTok hashtag data related to the conflict, leading some commentators to incorrectly suggest that TikTok is favouring pro-Palestine content over pro-Israel content for users in the United States."
The hashtag "standwithisrael" received 46 million views in the United States between October 7 and October 31, according to a TikTok blog post. In contrast, the hashtag "standwithpalestine" received 29 million views over the same period.
"Over the last few days, there has been unsound analysis of TikTok hashtag data around the conflict, causing some commentators to falsely insinuate TikTok is pushing pro-Palestine content over pro-Israel content to U.S. users," the business stated in its blog post.
Over 9,000 people have died as a result of Israel's assault of Gaza after Hamas terrorists killed 1,400 people there on October 7, according to Gaza authorities. Since October 7, more than 925,000 videos in the area have been taken down by TikTok due to violations of its standards including violence and misleading information.
The app, which is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company, claimed to have removed 24 million fraudulent accounts.
As tensions surrounding the conflict seep onto social media platforms, TikTok is not the only platform that is coming under increased scrutiny over its moderation practices. Allegations have been made against Meta, saying that it "shadowbanned" Instagram accounts that discussed the situation in Gaza and blamed it on a "bug." The European Union is looking into how X, formerly known as Twitter, handled false information about the violence.
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