TikTok Served Nazi Propaganda, Jan. 6 Committee Found – Rolling Stone
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Jan. 6 Committee Experiment Found TikTok Went From Zero To Nazi in 75 Minutes
The platform has largely escaped notice in the public battles over content moderation, but it’s not immune from hateful extremism
January 5, 2023
Photo illustration by Sandra Riaño. Photos in composite: Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/Getty Images; Kenny Williamson/Getty iStock
When the Jan. 6 committee wanted to test how easy it was for TikTok users to wander down a far-right rabbit hole, they tried an experiment. They created Alice, a fictional 41-year-old from Acton, Massachusetts, gave her a TikTok account, and tracked what the social media app showed her.
To their surprise, it only took 75 minutes of scrolling — with no interaction or cues about her interests — for the platform to serve Alice videos featuring Nazi content, following a detour through clips on the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp defamation suit, Donald Trump, and other right-wing culture war flashpoints.