TikTok’s highly active recommendation system is designed to keep users clicking on videos, even if they contain racist or homophobic content
Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
TikTok’s algorithm works in mysterious ways, but a Guardian Australia experiment on a blank account shows how quickly a breaking news event can funnel users down a conservative Christian, anti-immigration rabbit hole.
Last week we reported how Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms are luring young men into the Manosphere. This week, we explore what happens when TikTok’s algorithm is unleashed on a blank account in the absence of any interactions such as liking or commenting.
More Stories
Male mosquitoes to be genetically engineered to poison females with semen in Australian research
Memo to Trump: US telecoms is vulnerable to hackers. Please hang up and try again | John Naughton
Bizarre Australian mole even more unusual than first thought, new research reveals