As of: February 15, 2024, 6:48 p.m
By: Jana Stabener
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The Federal Ministry of the Interior wants more measures against right-wing extremism.
A sociologist explains how they “get ahead of the wave” on TikTok instead of running after the AfD.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is positioning herself against right-wing extremism and wants to “resolutely combat” it.
To this end, on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, she presented a package of thirteen measures against right-wing extremism.
The word TikTok is not mentioned in this catalog of measures, even though there is a “massive right-wing extremist threat,” criticizes the sociologist Özgür Özvatan at
BuzzFeed News Germany
, a portal from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Özvatan is researching the potential for radicalization on and through the Chinese social media app at the Humboldt University in Berlin.
He thinks: “There is still great fear of contact with TikTok in political parties, ministries and authorities.” Both in terms of controlling the content (content moderation) and one’s own presence in the app.
This means that the reality of life for teenagers and young adults in Germany is “politically completely ignored”.
The AfD, parts of which are right-wing extremists, fills this niche on TikTok and now has a 72 percent market share there.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser presents measures against right-wing extremism.
The app TikTok doesn't address it.
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa, IMAGO/Jürgen Heinrich
Right-wing extremism on TikTok: AfD is investing heavily in social media
The special thing about TikTok is that even accounts with few followers can generate visibility very quickly thanks to the algorithm.
They arise
TikTok trends, i.e. content that generates high interaction rates.
“If hateful and violent content generates high interaction rates, then hate can also spread quickly,” says Özvatan.
Especially if the content moderation fails, i.e. this content is not moderated or censored.
“The AfD and its periphery, i.e. right-wing extremist influencers, know about the interaction-based functionality of the algorithm.
Analyzes show that they invest massive amounts of resources in social media employees,” says the sociologist.
These resources can be used to manipulate interaction rates because the algorithm does not know that paid staff is interacting with the content and unknowingly flushes right-wing TikTok videos with harmless sounds onto the For You page of new target groups.
More on the topic: “Submit to the man”: On TikTok, women want to be #tradwife and do the housework
“Should be the basis for discussing a TikTok ban”
In addition to media literacy and educational work via the TikTok algorithm, an important measure is to compete with the AfD and other right-wing extremists on TikTok.
That means taking part in debates and engaging in counter-speech online.
“Democrats have to get ahead of the wave instead of constantly chasing technological progress and the instrumentalization of enemies of democracy,” says Özvatan.
This also includes political communication: “The AfD recognized this early on and channeled resources accordingly, while democratic parties, for example, still run expensive campaigns in print newspapers.”
Instead of an “early detection unit”, as Nancy Faeser presented it as a measure against right-wing extremism, what is needed In his opinion, it is more about better real-time detection of hate and violent content, which his team is currently working on.
The basis for identifying and moderating right-wing extremist content.
In the end, who gets TikTok to do more content moderation is not just a domestic policy question, but also a foreign policy question.
“Clarifying this question should be the basis for discussing a TikTok ban.”
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