TikTok Steps Up Crackdown On Hateful Content, Including LGBTQ+ Conversion Therapy, White Nationalism

Topline

TikTok, in a blog post Wednesday, pledged to do more to tackle hateful content on its platform, promising to remove content that is hurtful to the LGBTQ+ community, linked with white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and spreads misinformation about Jewish, Muslim and other communities, marking another escalation in an ongoing effort by social media companies to crack down on harmful content and misinformation.

Key Facts

Key Background 

While TikTok has previously banned content denying the Holocaust, the platform’s algorithm was found by a BBC investigation to have spread an anti-Semitic song earlier this year that eventually rackd up 6.5 million views. The platform later deleted the clip, but faced renewed calls to regulate its content and algorithm, while it also faced accusations of having a “Nazi problem”. Social media companies, facing calls from lawmakers and campaigners, are grappling with a growing epidemic of hateful and untruthful content on their platforms and often find themselves treading a fine line between accusations of censorship and allowing hate and lies to spread.Misinformation and conspiracy theories have become especially problematic in the context of a global pandemic and the upcoming election in the U.S., with TikTok previously banning content promoting the QAnon conspiracy, joining Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook that are cracking down on accounts linked to the conspiracy theory. 

Further Reading

TikTok Is Banning Accounts That Spread QAnon Theories And Disinformation (Forbes)

TikTok plans to do more to tackle hateful content after reports say it has a ‘Nazi problem’ (CNBC)

Twitter, Following Facebook, Reportedly Bans Holocaust Denial (Forbes)