Do algorithms favor China? This is how the country's image is built online

Polish researchers have investigated how TikTok's algorithms may shape perceptions of China, particularly among Polish users. The analysis, conducted by the NASK Center for Cybersecurity's Dezinformation Analysis Center (OAD), examined nearly 10,000 TikTok materials over three months on six topics considered sensitive by Beijing: Xinjiang, Tibet, the Tiananmen Square massacre, Taiwan, human rights in China, and "re-education camps."

The study, titled "Algorithm Manipulation: China in the Eyes of Polish TikTok Users," employed a "user journey" method. Researchers created six new accounts to observe content as a typical user would, focusing on how the platform recommends material in response to specific queries. This approach aimed to bypass platform declarations and reveal actual content recommendations.

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We decided to study using the "user journey" method because we wanted to see TikTok exactly as an ordinary internet user sees it. We were not interested in the platform's declarations, but in what content it actually recommends in response to specific queries.

Results varied significantly by topic. Pro-China content was most prevalent for Xinjiang (58.7%) and Tibet (44.5%), and also notable for human rights in China (35%). Conversely, content critical of Chinese authorities dominated discussions on the Tiananmen Square massacre (76.6%). For Taiwan, the majority of content (92%) was neutral. A particularly unusual finding was for "re-education camps," where 89% of recommended videos were unrelated to the search query.

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The conclusions from the study clearly show – TikTok uses different content selection strategies for different topics. However, we should not focus solely on the operation of one algorithm. This is a question of who and how shapes the image of the world that millions of users see every day.

Instead of relevant information, users searching for "re-education camps" were shown a large volume of random videos, including many promoting weight-loss methods and unrelated content like Chinese women hula-hooping. Researchers described this as a tactic to discourage further inquiry, causing user frustration. "Such a maneuver is intended to discourage users from further searches," explained Dr. Agnieszka Lipińska, head of OAD. "It simply causes frustration in the recipient. The search for information on an important topic clashes with less intellectually engaging content."

Antoni Mazek, a co-author of the report, emphasized that the study highlights how TikTok employs different content strategies for various subjects. He stressed that the focus should not solely be on a single algorithm but on the broader question of who shapes the global image seen by millions of users daily.

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Such a maneuver is intended to discourage users from further searches. It simply causes frustration in the recipient. The search for information on an important topic clashes with less intellectually engaging content.