A study found TikTok's algorithm recommended more Republican-aligned content during the 2024 US election. Republican accounts saw more like-minded content, while Democratic accounts were shown more opposing views. This suggests a pro-Republican skew.

Summary

A study found that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm favored Republican-leaning content during the 2024 U.S. presidential race.

TikTok, with over a billion active users worldwide, has become a key source of news, particularly for younger audiences.

Using 323 simulated accounts, researchers discovered that Republican-leaning users received 11.8% more aligned content than Democratic-leaning users, who were exposed to more opposing viewpoints.

The bias was largely driven by negative partisanship, with more anti-Democratic content recommended.

  • @UnderpantsWeevilEnglish
    0•6 days ago

    Democrats: “We’re going to obliterate your company and hand the scraps to our friends in Silicon Valley.”

    Republicans: “Maybe we can cut you a deal if we win, so they won’t do that.”

    Can’t believe TikTok has developed a conservative bias. Stunning.

    • @finitebanjo
      -1•5 days ago

      Banning TikTok was widely supported and Bipartisan. It is run by the Chinese State and sends massive amounts of USA citizen data directly to China including contacts, audio recordings, message history, and photo library.

      Biden promised not to enforce the TikTok ban just the same as Trump did.

      • @naught101
        3•5 days ago

        Probably not by millions of mostly young people who use it… The Dems pushing that through in an election year probably didn’t help their chances…

        • @finitebanjo
          0•5 days ago

          It was good policy, pushed through by both parties, but wasnt implemented fast enough to be effective.