Summary: Many people believe -- or get paid to say -- that TikTok is no worse than social control media made by the West and controlled by the West; those people clearly have no clue about TikTok (where the stated aim is harm, it is not merely a side effect)

TikTok is, bluntly speaking, a Chinese weapon disguised as an "app" or "site". Consider some recent examples such as [1] (some idiot "arrives at his own funeral in helicopter after faking his death"). As we noted some days ago in the series about YouTube, this imperils emergency services, can cause a suicide, etc. What healthy-minded person does this? And what for? To teach one's family a "lesson"? See "Paramedics turn on premier in TikTok tirade" [2], "The Battle for Control" [3] (yes, it's about TikTok), and then witness disturbing trends [4]. Even German media [5] has had its say.

For those who do not know what ByteDance is, Wikipedia says this: "ByteDance Ltd. (Chinese: 字节跳动; pinyin: Zìjié Tiàodòng) is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands." Well, "internet technology" is a typo (should be capitalised i, but Wikipedia is no longer known for quality) and calling it "internet technology" is a gross understatement. It's a surveillance giant that farms behaviour. It's like a Chinese "profiling" or "scoring" system for the entire world, operated by youths for the most part but aimed at adults.

Yesterday the New York Times wrote [6]: "On the short-form video app, long-established facts about the 1912 disaster at sea are being newly litigated as musty rumors merge with fresh misinformation and manipulated content."

Yes, "misinformation and manipulated content" is very common there because it is actively being encouraged and promoted (selected to go viral, by hostile forces). It harms people's safety, feelings, self-image, and education.

Techrights has been consistently and unapologetically against TikTok, more so than any other social control media. If you know someone who uses TikTok, do your best to wean them/him/her off it. ⬆

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. 2023-06-15 TikToker arrives at his own funeral in helicopter after faking his death

2. 2023-06-15 [Older] ‘Hey Chris Minns, remember us?’: Paramedics turn on premier in TikTok tirade

3. 2023-06-14 [Older] The Battle for Control: TikTok, Parental Consent, and the Rights of Children

4. 2023-06-14 [Older] Fewer People Trust Traditional Media, More Turn to TikTok for News, Report Says

5. 2023-06-10 [Older] Drohnenkrieg: Die TikTokisierung des Grauens





6. The Titanic Truthers of TikTok

   On the short-form video app, long-established facts about the 1912 disaster at sea are being newly litigated as musty rumors merge with fresh misinformation and manipulated content.