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TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

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Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#31
I still don't get how TikTok (and other "feed"-based social media) isn't regulated more strongly.

We don't allow 12 year olds to buy cigarettes because they're harmful and addictive. These apps are no different, they just don't cause obvious physical diseases like lung cancer.

It's clearly designed to entrap users in to addiction, but as a society we're still cool with it and it blows my mind.

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#32
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the conspiracy theory I 100% believe in. I don't think the reason to ban TikTok is that it gathers information, I think the reason to ban it is that its ranking algorithm is deliberately destructive. Maybe it's a coincidence that all the dangerous stunts and vandalism "pranks" come from TikTok and not Meta and Twitter, but I don't buy it. I'm leftist liberal and I have no particular paranoia about China, but I'm…

> I'm a completely leftist liberal I'm confused. Do you think the CPP is liberal? It's very authoritarian.

How are you under the impression OP that thinks the CPP is liberal??

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#33
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the conspiracy theory I 100% believe in. I don't think the reason to ban TikTok is that it gathers information, I think the reason to ban it is that its ranking algorithm is deliberately destructive. Maybe it's a coincidence that all the dangerous stunts and vandalism "pranks" come from TikTok and not Meta and Twitter, but I don't buy it. I'm leftist liberal and I have no particular paranoia about China, but I'm…

> I'm a completely leftist liberal I'm confused. Do you think the CPP is liberal? It's very authoritarian.

I'm not the OP, but I read that qualification as meaning "I'm not some right-wing nutter that's paranoid about Red Danger, and I don't believe everything mainstream media tells me".

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#34

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

>I don't know how true it is

It may be true on the margin, but Douyin is full of 'Key Opinion Leaders' who at best pay lip service to education and attainment. It's even worse on Kuaishou (Douyin for more rural areas). [0]

I always kind of bristle at the argument that this is somehow impacting what kids want too - PBS exists and spams their content as far and wide as possible, but US kids still end up preferring Cocomelon, Gabby's Doll House, etc.

There's no reason to believe that Chinese youth just take what's given to them when there are literally millions of random livestreams (hard to regulate livestreamed content at that level) going on at any given time.

As usual with China, what's likely going on is that someone is the CCP wants it to be true, so they 'make it true' and US media without local context takes it at face value.

[0]https://jingdaily.com/2022-top-six-chinese-kols-you-need-to-...

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#35

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

It's the conspiracy theory I 100% believe in. I don't think the reason to ban TikTok is that it gathers information, I think the reason to ban it is that its ranking algorithm is deliberately destructive. Maybe it's a coincidence that all the dangerous stunts and vandalism "pranks" come from TikTok and not Meta and Twitter, but I don't buy it. I'm leftist liberal and I have no particular paranoia about China, but I'm…

> leftist liberal

That's an oxymoron.

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#36

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

It's the conspiracy theory I 100% believe in. I don't think the reason to ban TikTok is that it gathers information, I think the reason to ban it is that its ranking algorithm is deliberately destructive. Maybe it's a coincidence that all the dangerous stunts and vandalism "pranks" come from TikTok and not Meta and Twitter, but I don't buy it. I'm leftist liberal and I have no particular paranoia about China, but I'm…

"I'm a completely leftist liberal, therefore I don't have any particular paranoia about China" is a type error. China is an autocracy, with a track record of doing things that warrant paranoia.

I don't really care what you mean by leftist, but you definitely cannot claim to be a liberal and have no "paranoia" about China.

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#37

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

That's completely untrue. I can't say if the algorithm is the same. In my short experience of using Douyin for the past couple weeks, I get zero education content, but a surprising amount of content about inequality and injustices.

> but a surprising amount of content about inequality and injustices

Is it inequality and injustice. where pointing it out. would actually threaten the power of the CCP?

When I started reading Chinese language media I was surprised how much apparent criticism there is -- but if you read carefully, anything approved in the PRC is always criticism of individuals, or maybe corporations, more rarely a local government, doing something that's already supposed to be officially prohibited, or which is not too sensitive, and never criticizes core official policy or high-ranking CCP members.

Which is how you can have anti-corruption, anti-sex scandal, anti-pollution news commentary, or even protests and marches, in China. But should official permission to disagree be withdrawn, the topic can very quickly become taboo. A couple years ago there was ongoing discussion in Chinese media about same-sex marriage and a member of the Yuan even introduced a bill to make same-sex marriage legal in China. Voted down. But an acceptable topic to discuss, not officially taboo. I suspect that has changed recently, with the campaign against the apparent feminization of Chinese men and now explicitly linking LGBT rights with the Western agenda. That shift, as I understand it, comes directly from Xi.

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#38

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

I think an American comedian said this and it become a meme repeated by the right wing us media. The comedian has said it’s BS.

Do you have a source for this?

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#39

I don't know how true it is, but allegedly[1] the algorithm of tiktok in china is tuned to promote achievements and education, while in the western world it promotes debauchery and stupidity. Doesn't take a huge leap to think it could be intentional.. [1] https://www.opindia.com/2022/07/tiktok-china-engineering-oth...

[dead]

Re: TikTok’s algorithm keeps pushing suicide to vulnerable kids

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the conspiracy theory I 100% believe in. I don't think the reason to ban TikTok is that it gathers information, I think the reason to ban it is that its ranking algorithm is deliberately destructive. Maybe it's a coincidence that all the dangerous stunts and vandalism "pranks" come from TikTok and not Meta and Twitter, but I don't buy it. I'm leftist liberal and I have no particular paranoia about China, but I'm…

> leftist liberal That's an oxymoron.

"Liberal" is an oxymoron. The social contract is not optional. We agree to be bound by rules because we prefer it to being by force, which is the default. Security is liberty, in the optimization sense.
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