TikTok has around 170 million American users. Around 32%, or 54 million, of those users are ages 10-19, and the World Press Institute has reported that an estimated 51% of that age group gets their news from social media rather than TV or news websites.
The problem with sourcing news from social media is that each site specifically caters to what you have liked in the past. This turns your feed into what is called an echo chamber, an environment where you only encounter your beliefs and things that support it.
Without going out and searching for it yourself, you will very rarely encounter opinions differing from your own. The algorithm knows what you like based on your previous interactions, gender, age, and location: so why would it show you something you won’t interact with?
Beyond that, certain topics, most noticeably on TikTok after its twelve hour ban, have been censored on the platform. Many users have reported their videos being taken down after commenting on political issues, especially if they were anti-Trump.
The search engine no longer shows results for American users when terms speaking critically of the current president are searched.
Users from other countries have come forward to show that they yield results elsewhere in the world. Some have also noticed that the comments, hashtags, and private messages have had heavier censorship since its return as well.
Using a VPN set to most countries other than the USA will allow you to see this content unrestricted.
Some political posts are no longer able to be shared or limited to one chat at a time, giving the users a message telling them to consider the accuracy of the content they are sharing.
Checking your sources is always important, but I worry that this goes further than that. This completely removes the opportunity to check your sources and form your own opinion, showing you only the things that they approve of. You cannot only get your news from social media, a curated feed.
While social media is certainly a quick way to get news, it should not be your sole source. Seeking out news from a variety of reliable sources is the only way to ensure you are forming an informed, unbiased opinion.
