Abstract

In this focused discussion, we describe the aspects of TikTok that make the social media platform uniquely vulnerable to misinformation in times of crisis and change. We lead a discussion about how the platform’s oversights and defining features (such as “dueting,” “stitching,” the reuse of sounds, and the algorithm behind the “For You” page) are used and exploited to create and spread mis- and disinformation – sometimes inadvertently – while still operating within the bounds of the app’s terms of service. We zoom out to provide an overview of the app’s history, ownership, demographics, user cultures, and competitors to chronicle its transformation from a dancing app for teens to a misinformation machine. We then lay out basic research techniques for misinformation researchers, based on how the Technology and Social Change Project studies the platform, the lessons we have learned, and the methodologies we have developed. This research is based on our publication in the Media Manipulation Casebook, “Tiktok, the War on Ukraine, and 10 Features that Make the App Vulnerable to Misinformation.” We were interviewed by The New York Times, Fast Company, and ABC Australia about this report, and it has inspired product changes currently in the works at TikTok. We conclude by demonstrating how we applied these techniques in the past, and how they can be useful to audience members researching ongoing crises and politically contentious issues, such as the war on Ukraine, the pandemic, and new challenges to Roe v. Wade in the US.

Presenters

Jennifer Nilsen
Research Fellow, Technology and Social Change Project, Harvard University, Massachusetts, United States

Kaylee Fagan
Research Fellow, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University, Massachusetts, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

2022 Special Focus—Democratic Disorder: Disinformation, the Media and Crisis in a Time of Change

KEYWORDS

Social Media, TikTok, Disinformation, Misinformation, Media Technology, Media Literacy

Digital Media

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