TikTok Algorithm Boosts Pro-Chinese Communist Party Content, Suppresses Criticism, According To New Study: Company Fires Back, Calls It 'Fiction'

A study by the Network Contagion Research Institute or NCRI in collaboration with Rutgers University suggests that ByteDance-owned social media platform TikTok’s algorithm promotes content favoring the Chinese government.

What Happened: Building on the December 2023 finding, the study found “compelling and strong circumstantial evidence” that TikTok content is manipulated by the Chinese government.

However, the authors admitted that the findings are “not definitive proof of state orchestration.”

It also found that TikTok’s algorithm promotes pro-Chinese Communist Party or CCP content while suppressing videos critical of the government.

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According to a survey of about 1,200 Americans, frequent TikTok users are about 50% more likely to have a positive opinion of the Chinese government than non-users.

“NCRI assesses that the CCP is deploying algorithmic manipulation in combination with prolific information operations to impact user beliefs and behaviors on a massive scale and that these efforts prove highly successful on TikTok in particular,” the study read.

The authors used the findings to urge the federal government for additional regulation of the social media giant.

The study findings were first reported by The Hill. In a statement to the publication, TikTok refuted the study, calling it “fiction.”

The company spokesperson stated, “This non-peer-reviewed, flawed experiment was clearly engineered to reach a false, predetermined conclusion.”

TikTok did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

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Why It Matters: This comes amidst bipartisan criticism of the social media site and a legal battle over its future after Congress passed a bill mandating its Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department accused TikTok of collecting data on its users' views on sensitive topics such as gun control, abortion, and religion. The department also claimed that TikTok has been censoring content.

Earlier this month, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission or FTC also filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing it of repeatedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.