- TikTok quickly became popular after racial bias appeared in the app’s creator market algorithm.
- TikTok seems to mark the phrase “black man’s fate is also fate” as inappropriate.
- TikTok apologized for the “major error” and said it is working hard to fix it.
- Visit Business Insider SA’s homepage for more stories.
A viral video on the app by TikTok apologized after showing racial bias in the app’s algorithm, claiming that its creator market blocked phrases such as “black life is also fate” and “black people” and “white people are supreme.” No.
The video was released on July 6th by content creator Ziggi Tyler. The 23-year-old Taylor is a hit comedy TikToker with more than 300,000 fans.
This Creator marketLaunched by TikTok at the end of 2019, it is an invitation-only platform that connects popular TikTok account holders and influencers with brands.
In the footage from his own screen recording that Taylor said, TikTok seemed to mark phrases such as “support for black excellence” and “pro-black”, while phrases such as “support for excellent whites” and “pro-whites” did not.
“They are the same adjective,” Taylor said in the video. “We are tired.”
Later that day, Taylor posted a follow-up TikTok. The video has been viewed 1.1 million times, indicating that phrases such as “I am a neo-Nazi” and “I am an anti-Semitist” are not marked on the creator market, while phrases such as “I am black” are.
In response to these videos, a TikTok spokesperson told Insider: “Our TikTok Creator Marketplace protection measures (usually tagged phrases associated with hate speech) were incorrectly set to tag phrases regardless of word order. We acknowledge and apologize for this. We are frustrated by the experience, and our team is quickly fixing this major error. What needs to be clear is that Black Lives Matter has not violated our policies, and there are currently more than 27 billion views on our platform.”
This is not the first time that TikTok’s algorithm has caused controversy in marginalized communities. in May, Experiments in media affairsA non-profit media regulator discovered that TikTok’s algorithm was promoting homophobic and transphobic content to viewers.
As part of the experiment, Watchdog created a virtual account, and Media Matters found that only liking an anti-LGBTQ+ video on that account would cause TikTok to recommend more such videos.
A TikTok spokesperson told Insider at the time that it was “committed to supporting and promoting” LGBTQ voices. The spokesperson added: “We strive to create a popular community environment by deleting anti-LGBTQ+ videos and accounts that try to spread hate ideas on our platform.”
recent, Black creators on TikTok also “strike” Calling dance grants on the app-TikTokers favorite stuff Charlie Damerio with Addison Ray Criticized for failing to praise black creators when performing TikTok dances on their platforms or on TV shows.
