TikTok’s worrying problem with extremist content

An exclusive in Wired exposes a troubling trend during Germany’s recent campaign for the European election on June 9. TikTok apparently promoted content from the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party excessively, even to users searching for other parties’ content or topics completely unrelated to the elections.

TikTok’s recommendation algorithm consistently included AfD content in search results, regardless of user preferences. In these elections, the AfD, widely considered an extremist party, was alone in improving its results, gaining four additional MEPs and securing second place with 15 representatives in the European Parliament.

The AfD’s affinity for TikTok is well-documented. They aim to capture young people, creating near-constant content on the platform. Their strategy involves provocative posts reinforcing racism, fascism, and hate speech across social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram, which are often met with inaction from platform moderators.

However, the report suggests this isn’t merely clever strategy by the AfD, but rather significant amplification provided by TikTok itself, either intentionally or through poor monitoring of its algorithm. This echoes past issues, such as when TikTok’s algorithm recommended dance videos of young girls to unrelated adult users. The company…