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Members of Congress, conservative activists, and wealthy tech investors are once again calling for a ban on TikTok in the United States. They argue that the app’s most popular content related to the Israel-Hamas war has a pro-Palestinian bias that undermines support for Israel among young Americans. These calls for a ban have been fueled by concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership and potential government control, which both Democrats and Republicans view as a threat to the personal data of U.S. users.

Critics claim that TikTok is using its influence to promote pro-Palestinian content that goes against U.S. foreign policy interests. While these claims are anecdotal, they have gained traction on social media platforms like X and conservative media outlets such as Fox News. TikTok, on the other hand, denies these allegations and maintains that they are baseless.

The performance of pro-Palestinian content on TikTok depends on how one interprets the platform’s data. Internationally, there has historically been more interest in the hashtag #standwithpalestine compared to #standwithisrael. However, when looking specifically at the U.S. data over the past 30 days, pro-Israel content has been performing just as well, if not better, than some popular pro-Palestinian content.

The recent surge in calls for a ban began after Jeff Morris Jr., a tech venture capitalist and former executive of Tinder, wrote a viral thread on X last week. In his thread, Morris highlighted the spread of “wrong information” about Hamas and Israel among high school and college students on TikTok. This experience aligns with concerns about TikTok’s algorithmic function, which can serve similar content to users based on their engagement with a particular topic.

Morris also shared a screenshot of suggested hashtags generated by searches for “Stand with palestine” and “Stand with israel” on TikTok’s search bar. The hashtag “standwithpalestine” had significantly higher worldwide views compared to “standwithisrael.” However, a more focused search using TikTok’s hashtag metrics discovery tool, limited to the last 30 days, shows that pro-Israel hashtags in the U.S. may be receiving equal or greater attention on the platform. This raises questions about the allegations of bias.

One possible explanation for the difference in views between specific hashtags could be a generational divide. Surveys have indicated that younger people are more evenly divided in their support for Israelis and Palestinians, while older individuals tend to be more supportive of Israelis. TikTok’s hashtag data reflects this trend, with the majority of users supporting #standwithpalestine being between the ages of 18 and 24, and the majority supporting #standwithisrael being 35 and older.

Renewed calls for a TikTok ban have gained attention from politicians like Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. Marsha Blackburn. They argue that TikTok, as a Chinese-owned app, poses concerns about national security and foreign propaganda dissemination. Sen. Marco Rubio has also expressed support for a ban, raising concerns about the potential manipulation of TikTok’s algorithm by the Chinese Communist Party.

TikTok has denied these allegations, emphasizing that its community guidelines apply equally to all content and that it strongly rejects any claims of bias. The company has stated that it enforces policies to protect its community and bans content from violent political organizations like Hamas. However, reports suggest that TikTok has faced challenges in effectively identifying and removing extremist content.

In addition to accusations of bias, TikTok has faced criticism for allegedly censoring pro-Palestinian content. Last week, the government of Malaysia accused TikTok and Meta of blocking such posts, a claim that both companies denied. Critics argue that the renewed push for a TikTok ban, in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict, is more about silencing pro-Palestinian voices than addressing national security concerns.

It is important to note that social media platforms, including TikTok, have grappled with controlling misinformation and content related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. TikTok, previously regarded as responsive to emerging issues by experts, is now facing scrutiny for the circulation of concerning videos. The Anti-Defamation League has flagged troubling videos suggesting that the Hamas massacre at the Supernova music festival was fabricated or exaggerated.

While the situation on various social media platforms remains complex and contentious, one potential solution to decipher the content is AI legalese decoder. This AI tool can analyze the vast amount of data on TikTok, including views, engagement, and hashtags, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the discourse surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict. By utilizing AI technology, policymakers, researchers, and users can gain valuable insights into the influence of TikTok and its potential impact on public opinion and foreign policy interests. This tool can help shed light on the claims of bias and provide a more nuanced understanding of the situation at hand.

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