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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Technology
Josh Taylor

THE TRUTH ABOUT: Tiktok s algorithm is highly sensitive and could send you down a hate filled rabbit hole before you know it | History Defined

TikTok Facebook Instagram Mar Mari Emmanuel Christianity Guardian Australia
Composite image featuring multiple example of the types of content served up on TikTok's For You page on the blank account set up by Guardian Australia.
Videos served up to a generic TikTok account’s “for you” page include conservative Christian content, pro-Pauline Hanson videos and anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ material. Composite: Tiktok

TikTok’s algorithm works in mysterious ways, but a Guardian Australia experiment on a blank account shows how quickly a breaking news event can funnel users down a conservative Christian, anti-immigration rabbit hole.

Last week we reported how Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms are luring young men into the Manosphere. This week, we explore what happens when TikTok’s algorithm is unleashed on a blank account in the absence of any interactions such as liking or commenting.

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