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All social media spread misinformation well, but due to its design, TikTok does it especially well.
The future of TikTok is currently in flux. TikTok's secretive algorithm is controlled by the Chinese government. Due to this national security concern, Congress passed legislation forcing the sell of TikTok, which may not go into effect until early 2025. Though, courts cases could delay it further.
Regardless of the outcome, however, TikTok's basic design will likely remain the same. And that design is to give you what you like in abundance. The New York Times puts it this way [ [link removed] ],
Unlike Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat, TikTok didn’t build itself around social connections. Its goal is pure, uncut entertainment. The algorithm ingested every data point it could from what users skipped, liked or shared — and spat it directly into the maddeningly habit-forming For You Page. Fans whispered reverently that it knew them better than they knew themselves.
This means that TikTok can be a place for reliable information, if you're into that sort of thing. But if you're using TikTok to debunk misinformation, it's likely seen by folks who already don't believe the misinformation. The misinformation itself, meanwhile, can spread quickly. Worse still, other social media companies are following the example of TikTok.
In the same NYT article, Tiffany Hsu pointed to the example of a conspiracy involving toothpaste that went viral on TikTok. Dentists posted videos debunking the conspiracy but their videos got far fewer views than the videos spreading the misinformation.
Hsu reported,
Abbie Richards, a misinformation researcher who studies the TikTok ecosystem, said that such posts thrive because of the platform’s potent recommendation algorithms and its low barrier to entry.
TikTok allows users to earn money from their videos through tools such as its creator rewards program and livestream subscriptions. Conspiracy theories, which draw high engagement, are one of the most profitable categories, said Ms. Richards, a senior video producer at the liberal watchdog group Media Matters.
“It’s like candy for your brain — it tells a story that simplifies the world in a way that feels good to you,” she said.
Tip: If you regularly consume TikTok's brain candy, be mindful of what you teach the algorithm about your preferences. And for all social media, we have to be intentional about following reliable information. Otherwise, the algorithms will feed us junk.
Join Our Webinar Next Week!
Is Christian Nationalism a paper tiger whose threats are overblown by left-wing media and political operatives, or is it a serious danger to our democracy? Please join us next week for our webinar, “Christian Nationalism: How Dangerous Is It Really?” with Professors Mark Hall and Paul Miller.
Hall, professor of political science at Regent University, addresses this issue in his new book, Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism: Why Christian Nationalism Is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church [ [link removed] ]. For more of Hall’s views on this topic, check out “Towards a More Reasonable Account of American Christian Nationalism [ [link removed] ]” and “God & Country: A Review [ [link removed] ].”
Miller, professor of political science at Georgetown University, also wrote a book on Christian Nationalism, The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong With Christian Nationalism [ [link removed] ]. For more of Miller’s writings on this topic, check out “What Is Christian Nationalism? [ [link removed] ]” and “The Problem with Anti-Anti-Christian Nationalism [ [link removed] ].”
Join us online May 2, 8-9pm eastern.
What Else We're Reading
NBC News: “A sheriff, a felon and a conspiracy theorist walk into a hotel. They're there for the same conference.”
Richard Fleming, a cardiologist who in 2009 pleaded guilty to felony charges of health care and mail fraud, gave a lengthy presentation alleging the Covid vaccines were bioweapons. Radio show host Wayne Allyn Root thundered into the microphone promoting the “great replacement,” a racist conspiracy theory. “They want to replace American citizens who love this country,“ Root bellowed.
It was nearly lunchtime when the first active sheriff spoke. Bob Songer, a CSPOA board member and the sheriff of Klickitat County, Washington, said he enforces only laws he determines to be constitutional and talked about his “posse,” a group of 150 armed community volunteers he relies on for tasks like hunting cougars and courtroom security and keeps at the ready, as a potential militia. He offered a copy of his posse plan to sheriffs in the audience.
Read the whole thing. [ [link removed] ]
WaPo: “Meadows, Giuliani and other Trump allies charged in Arizona 2020 election probe”
An Arizona grand jury on Wednesday indicted seven attorneys or aides affiliated with Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign as well as 11 Arizona Republicans on felony charges related to their alleged efforts to subvert Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state, according to an announcement by the state attorney general.
Those indicted include former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows [ [link removed] ], attorneys Rudy Giuliani [ [link removed] ], Jenna Ellis [ [link removed] ], John Eastman [ [link removed] ] and Christina Bobb, top campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn [ [link removed] ] and former campaign aide Mike Roman [ [link removed] ]. They are accused of allegedly aiding an unsuccessful strategy to award the state’s electoral votes to Trump instead of Biden after the 2020 election. Also charged are the Republicans who signed paperwork on Dec. 14, 2020, that falsely purported Trump was the rightful winner, including former state party chair Kelli Ward, two state senators and Tyler Bowyer, a GOP national committeeman and chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of the pro-Trump conservative group Turning Point USA [ [link removed] ].
Trump was not charged, but he is described in the indictment as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Read the rest. [ [link removed] ]
WaPo: “Turning Point Action official resigns after accusation of election-related fraud”
A top leader of the national conservative group Turning Point Action, which has amplified false claims of election fraud by former president Donald Trump [ [link removed] ] and others, resigned Thursday after being accused of forging voter signatures on official paperwork so that he could run for reelection in the Arizona House.
Read the rest. [ [link removed] ]
The Guardian: “Exclusive: Trump Media saved in 2022 by Russian-American under criminal investigation”
The situation led Trump Media to take emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the Caribbean island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry.
Through leaked documents, the Guardian has learned that ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger.
The existence of the trust has previously been reported by the Guardian and the Washington Post. However, who controlled the account, how the trust was connected to Paxum Bank, and how the money had been funneled through the trust to Trump Media was unknown.
Read the whole thing. [ [link removed] ]
David French: “The Line Between Good and Evil Cuts Through Evangelical America”
Roughly speaking, fundamentalists are intolerant of dissent. Evangelicals are much more accepting of theological differences. Fundamentalists place a greater emphasis on confrontation and domination. Evangelicals are more interested in pluralism and persuasion. Fundamentalists focus more on God’s law. Evangelicals tend to emphasize God’s grace. While many evangelicals are certainly enthusiastic Trump supporters, they are more likely to be reluctant (and even embarrassed) Trump voters, or Never Trumpers, or Democrats. Fundamentalists tend to march much more in [ [link removed] ] lock step with the MAGA movement. Donald Trump’s combative psychology in many ways merges with their own.
Read the whole thing. [ [link removed] ]
What We’re Watching
PBS Newshour: “How a North Carolina community is confronting divisions, talking through its differences”
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