Are Emmanuel Macron’s attacks on TikTok justified? During a trip to Vienne, the President of the Republic considered that the Chinese platform was “the first (psychological) disruptor” among children and adolescents. In particular, he criticized Beijing’s political regulation of content.
More than 235 million visits
Except that on the platform, the keyword #Xinjiang has more than 139 million views. If many do not necessarily address the issue of the situation of the uyghur population, others mention it directly. Repressed in the Chinese province, this people, mostly Muslim, is forced to work, especially for the automotive or textile industry.
In addition, the keyword #Uyghur also includes content. TikTok users have viewed videos with the term 235 million times. Here again, a classification is necessary, but the situation of the people, who have been the object of a complaint at the UN, is widely discussed.
Even recent protests by the Chinese population have been documented on TikTok. Although iPhone City employees strongly rejected the government’s anti-Covid measures, they took the opportunity to denounce their working conditions and salaries.
However, Emmanuel Macron is right when he talks about the regulation of the platform by China. Because in the country the TikTok application is heavily censored on these issues.
In 2019, videos of the Hong Kong protests were particularly hard to find on the platform. With the pretext of making its content more positive, images of the events were censored. The app was then accused of hiding content unfavorable to the Chinese government.
identified russian propaganda
Regarding the aspects of psychological disorders among the youngest, several content creators invoked the preservation of their mental health to leave TikTok. This is, among others, the case of Brody Wellmaker, who left this summer. However, this trend seems deeper and affects all social networks. Because the harmful effects are attributable to the platforms, especially among young users.
Finally, the President of the Republic denounced the presence of Russian propaganda on TikTok. Emmanuel Macron may be basing himself on a NewsGuard report. The company specializes in disinformation and its spread. He showed that the Russian paramilitary group Wagner used the social network to spread videos of executions and propaganda, calling for violence against Ukrainians.
Source: BFM TV
