Shocking: TikTok Filtered Posts by “Poor” and “Ugly” People

The dark side of TikTok!

TikTok

TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform, that is owned by a company based in Beijing called ByteDance. TikTok was founded in 2016, as a platform where lip-sync, comedy and talent videos can be created.

People outside of China were able to download the app in 2017. Little did the app makers know that it could explode in popularity, and compete against the likes of Facebook and Twitter in no time at all.

 

 

An App For The Rich & Pretty?

According to leaked TikTok guidelines, it was revealed that the platform, which is used by over a billion users, is also discriminatory. Moderators are allegedly guided to suppress videos from users who have “ugly facial looks” or appear to be in a “slum” or “dilapidated housing”.

The censorship was not limited to the aforementioned people; it was also directed towards the overweight and the disabled. In 2019, a similar leak provided details of censorship of LGBTQ related posts.

According to the leaked documents, “abnormal body shape” such as a “beer belly” and “ugly facial looks” such as “wrinkles” could not be promoted in the “For You” section of TikTok.

The following document was translated from Chinese to English:

A long way to go

TikTok officials claim that these guidelines were made to prevent online bullying, but it seems rather dubious. People who appear to be poor, with cracked walls or old decorations, get their videos suppressed.

The promotion of ‘ugly,’ ‘fat,’ and ‘old’ people might make TikTok unable to attract new customers.

If the character’s appearance or the shooting environment is not good, the video will be much less attractive, not worth it to be recommended to new users.

A TikTok spokesperson told The Verge that these guidelines “were not for the US market” and that they were regional.

While people are outraged, TikTok has been under a lot of scrutiny since its launch. The founders seem like they have a lot of work cut out for them.

Either way, people that always found this app cringe-worthy have had their points proven through these latest revelations.

Have anything to add? Let us know!

Via The Verge


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