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TikTok has come under scrutiny after one of their very own users pointed out that there was a very clear bias within the algorithm that hurt people of color and supported white supremacy simultaneously.
Creator Ziggi Tyler was doing some digging when he realized that several key phrases, including "Black Lives Matter," "Black people," and "supporting Black excellence" were blocked from TikTok's Creator's Marketplace.
However, the phrases "white supremacy" and "supporting white excellence" were not.
Tiktok user @ziggityler demonstrating how in the creator marketplace tiktok flags anything related to the word 'bla… https://t.co/x692z37QJ7— Andrew Galvin (@Andrew Galvin) 1625580968.0
An update: (because apparently being black on that app isn’t allowed but being a neo nazi is? K. ) https://t.co/9ecIf0tvPe— Ziggi Tyler (@Ziggi Tyler) 1625613069.0
TikTok also flagged Tyler's profile when he said the words "I am a Black man," but not when he said the words "I am a neo-Nazi" or "I am anti-semitic."
Whew, this isn’t just exposing TikTok. This is how all these platforms work, more or less. https://t.co/qFFvkyc9PD— Pariss Athena | Founder of Black Tech Pipeline (@Pariss Athena | Founder of Black Tech Pipeline) 1625540426.0
@atoherbert Humans write the algorithm. This is captured racism, prejudice, exclusion, and bias. They intentionally… https://t.co/vYGpdmWI2S— Pariss Athena | Founder of Black Tech Pipeline (@Pariss Athena | Founder of Black Tech Pipeline) 1625573007.0
@ParissAthena Maybe it's time Black folk stop supporting @tiktok_us— Lisa Modlin (@Lisa Modlin) 1625586936.0
@ParissAthena Key people at Tik Tok: Shou Zi Chew, Erich Anderson, Blake Chandlee, & Vanessa Pappas. https://t.co/hTCyxJiXjp— △⃒⃘ (@△⃒⃘) 1625585751.0
Several creators and other folks took notice of the algorithm's significant bias toward anti-blackness.
In an event that is unclear if it is related to this exposé or not, TikTok went down in the afternoon of July 6th, the day the video went viral, and several users saw their algorithms reshuffled completely.
It’s deeper than a dance strike. TikTok is actively denying creator funding for any type of content related to blac… https://t.co/q4HFuLSeuu— Erick (@Erick) 1625579456.0
TikTok’s algorithm sucks so here y’all go https://t.co/ZQDpPhiNRU— Moon⁷ ♡ (@Moon⁷ ♡) 1626062508.0
TikTok is a big part of my business & all these big companies are likely anti-black too. However, this is so egregi… https://t.co/Ip4i4mAR74— StreamLord Cyph 🇬🇾📈 (@StreamLord Cyph 🇬🇾📈) 1625687248.0
Racism is in tech algorithms. And we’re seeing a very clear example here of anti-Blackness in the block list used f… https://t.co/j6IYjJsnPU— Sheree Atcheson #DemandingMore OUT NOW📙 (@Sheree Atcheson #DemandingMore OUT NOW📙) 1625580474.0
TikTok released a statement on the issue to publication Indy100.
"Our TikTok Creator Marketplace protections, which flag phrases typically associated with hate speech, were erroneously set to flag phrases without respect to word order."
"We recognize and apologize for how frustrating this was to experience, and our team has fixed this significant error. To be clear, Black Lives Matter does not violate our policies and currently has over 27B views on our platform."
Dear @tiktok_us I find this EXTREMELY disturbing and incredibly racist. You may be an online platform, but you’r… https://t.co/tMqBqDQrcL— Pam Keith, Esq. (@Pam Keith, Esq.) 1625543519.0
@PamKeithFL @bouquetofkisses @tiktok_us A perfect example of what is systemic about racism.— Madmama - I DISSENT (@Madmama - I DISSENT) 1625588360.0
@PamKeithFL @cherthedev @tiktok_us This is not acceptable!!— Sahil Aujla (@Sahil Aujla) 1625577459.0
@PamKeithFL @tiktok_us And yet morons like @tedcruz think teaching youth about CRT is a communist conspiracy.— Andrew McFadden (@Andrew McFadden) 1625841268.0
Whether or not the algorithm has truly been fixed is not clear, but either way, something major has been exposed about algorithms in general.
Algorithms are written by humans, therefore algorithms will always have a bias. Social media alone will never be a fully effective tool for social justice.