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Deleted: For some reason I can't get the image to upload correctly and it won't show.
With regards to Chinese control/manipulation, I'd like to add that in the course of debate with another person I've discovered just today that:
I can't locate actual evidence from journalists that shows that TikTok skews results at the behest of China or otherwise. "There is no concrete evidence supporting the idea that political ideas shared on TikTok are more progressive or pro-Palestine than what you find on other platforms or that it skews more progressive than the overall population — with nearly 70 percent of voters now supporting a cease-fire in Gaza. It’s unclear how TikTok’s algorithm handles political content. But one of lawmakers’ greatest concerns is that the platform has offered a new avenue for people to virally spread political messages outside of traditional media."
Topics that China REALLY wants censored are freely available on TikTok. Here's #uyghur on TikTok - the first result at the top is a video about how the world said "never again" after the Holocaust yet now we let it happen to Uyghurs in China. Here's a video from an account with 1.5 million followers that tests Chinese censorship by going through all of China's dirty laundry, including Uyghurs, Tibet and political suppression. It has been up since March 13th, has 187,500 likes, and shows up in the first 10 results (so right near the top). There are 42,700 posts that come up with #uyghur and top results are condemnations of China's genocide.
Saying China doesn't commit cyberwarfare or propaganda would be a ridiculous position. We should definitely be paying attention to what stands between the public and facts, although that applies to many more platforms than just TikTok. However, people should know the facts of censorship or skewing (China-mandated or otherwise). Burden of proof is on the accusers, and I can't find said proof. In the case of censorship, what I can easily find first-hand on TikTok itself is evidence that contradicts the claims about banning Uyghurs, Tibet, etc.
Edit: To those downvoting, why? I'm not asking because I need you to justify disagreeing with me. I want to see the evidence I couldn't find after spending all afternoon looking for actual proof that China maliciously censors TikTok or disproportionately skews results as is being alleged. I stepped up with evidence, please do the same.