Last week, Oxford University’s Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism released its annual digital news report, which found that “for the first time, social media and video networks are, on average across the markets covered, more popular than both TV and owned news websites and apps as sources of news.” The analysis looked at news consumption patterns around the world. It found over three quarters of the population is watching online news videos each week and many people rely on it more than traditional television broadcasts.
It’s clear that online video, especially short-form clips, is crucial for reaching the public. That’s particularly true since traditional internet traffic is rapidly drying up for most media outlets. The sharp audience dropoff is largely attributable to an AI takeover at the world’s largest search engine.
In this landscape, video matters more than ever, particularly TikTok. The Reuters Institute report noted that TikTok and Instagram are “the fastest growing video-led networks” with the latter platform leading the way.
Given all of these trends, I have started trying to build up my own TikTok presence with an eye towards ultimately creating more official TPM content on the platform. I quickly found out that the influential app makes it almost impossible for small and independent creators to report or comment on current events. Based on my own experience, it seems far-right politics thrives on the platform while reporting on extremism is almost instantly shut down.
I began regularly trying to post videos about news, history, and culture last month. Some were quickly removed.
The first clip taken down was one where I talked about Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s great grandson playing pro soccer — and electrifying Europe’s far right fans. There was no explanation for the removal and when I tried to appeal, it was denied. The response to the appeal indicated TikTok’s censors determined the video promoted “Violent and Hateful Organizations and Individuals.” Of course, while I had indeed mentioned extremist groups in the clip, it wasn’t at all positive or promotional. The video also was posted to YouTube without issue.
Based on the near-instant speed of the removal, it seemed clear AI was in control of the heavy handed censorship on the platform. I was disturbed by the experience, especially since I have heard other creators have faced similar issues since earlier this year when, after intervention from the White House, TikTok was taken over by a new American ownership group that includes the Oracle Corporation led by Larry Ellison, a billionaire backer of President Donald Trump.
After my video on Mussolini was taken down, I put several of these questions to TikTok’s public relations department in an email. I sent them the copy of my video on YouTube along with links to several clips that had been permitted to air on TikTok including a trending pro-Mussolini dance featuring fascist salutes and videos focused on “Black fatigue” and “Jew fatigue,” two extremist memes that are as blatantly antisemitic and racist as their names suggest.
TikTok never responded to my query. However, shortly after I sent it, my video was reinstated and the various extremist clips I flagged were all taken down.
Of course, that kind of special treatment is not what we’re looking for and it’s not an answer to the larger questions here. As of this writing, there are tons of “Black fatigue,” antisemitic, and pro-fascist clips live on the platform. In fact, while individual videos I flagged were removed, an account I pointed to that is wholly focused on “blk&jewfatigue” is still publishing on TikTok.
And, even after apparent intervention from TikTok PR, another clip of mine was nearly instantly removed for an unspecified “community guidelines” violation. The video talked about how the UFC heavyweight who insulted Michelle Obama at the White House fights earlier this month became a jiu jitsu meme. Once again, I was able to share it on YouTube without incident. We’ve also had no problem posting content on Instagram.
I ended up filming a TikTok detailing this experience and sending it to the platform’s PR department with a new round of questions. As of this writing, they have not offered any response.
That wasn’t even the last of it. Another clip I made showing the questionable salute gesture one of the UFC fighters made at the White House was also taken down a few days after I posted it earlier that month. That one was removed after a copyright claim from Paramount, which has a streaming deal with UFC and is another part of Ellison’s media empire. The clip featured a few seconds of clearly newsworthy footage from the fight, which was filmed on government property. Other videos — that did not highlight the controversial nature of the gesture — were apparently unchallenged by Paramount. And, once again, this exact video of mine has no issues on YouTube. I appealed the decision noting that my usage of the footage clearly fit under the fair use exemption for news reporting. So far, my appeal has received no response.
I am far from the only content creator who has run into these issues. Ryan Broderick, who is editor-in-chief of the excellent Garbage Day newsletter, which chronicles internet culture, has written about his own experience repeatedly being “thrown in TikTok jail” since the platform’s new ownership took over.
In a conversation earlier this month, Broderick talked to me about his experience with TikTok, or, as he put it, his “least favorite relationship on the internet.” Broderick said that Garbage Day had multiple videos taken down with no explanation and that he knew other creators who were simply giving up on the platform. Like TPM, he also has not received on the record responses from TikTok to questions about its censorship policies. However, through his reporting and analysis, Broderick has been able to get some sense of the dynamics on the platform.
Broderick said that, based on his conversations, he believes accounts with six-figure followings have largely been able to dodge the aggressive AI censorship.
“My read on this is, like, if you can fight through the kind of brutal establishment of your account and you can get a big audience, TikTok will just sort of give you carte blanche,” Broderick explained.
According to Broderick, much of the censorship is taking place in what he called a “weird middle ground” of accounts with mid-size followings and regular posting schedules. And, of course, that space is exactly where small, independent media outlets like TPM and Garbage Day reside.
Broderick also believes that some of these changes to the platform have coincided with the takeover by the new American ownership group.
“We have a separate team that basically scours every platform for metrics every month. We call it ‘Garbage Intelligence.’ It’s a thing we do for our paid readers,” said Broderick. “We track month to month changes on TikTok through that. And we have noticed changes. So, I can say to you without a shadow of a doubt that the algorithm is different.”
Prior to Trump pushing TikTok to new owners, the platform was known for an algorithm that curated highly individualized feeds for viewers. But Broderick said Garbage Day has found that, following the takeover, for the first time in about three years, the same accounts consistently had the most engagement each month. And those pages were not focused on current events.
“TikTok has never wanted to be a news platform. Like it’s extremely allergic to when news happens on the platform. It always has been,” he explained.
TikTok may not ever have been designed as a news service. And Broderick doesn’t believe the worst theories that have emerged about Ellison solely censoring left-wing content on the platform are correct. However, he does suspect that the company has become a less hospitable environment for media outlets overall.
“The major line you’re seeing from a lot of people right now is Oracle is run by a right-wing oligarch with ties to Trump and they’re going to censor creators. The fact is, that’s really hard to do. Like, it’s very hard to censor a left-wing creator without also censoring right-wing creators because the stuff that they’re talking about is largely the same,” Broderick said, before adding: “But what they can do is they can make it harder, you know, for certain kinds of accounts to get started.”
Broderick also believes that, under its new ownership, TikTok is burying news — and particularly left perspectives — under “slop.”
“We saw this when Facebook got rid of the news feed — like for news content, they can emphasize dumber stuff, which is definitely what’s happening on TikTok,” said Broderick. “Instead of censoring the left, they can bury it in stupid shit. And that’s, I think, absolutely happening on TikTok.”
Welcome to the new internet. Your search results and feeds are being controlled in ways you may not have realized. AI, billionaires, and total blackouts are now part of the game.
