As of: February 29, 2024, 6:00 a.m
By: Maibrit Schültken
Comments
Press
Split
“Challenges” on TikTok repeatedly call for xenophobic behavior.
The algorithm favors the spread of dangerous content.
Frankfurt – TikTok is no longer just a social media platform with funny dances and lip sync clips.
It has now established itself as a source of information and, with its technical structure, offers a diverse range of content that appears to be spreading unchecked.
The so-called for-you page of each account not only displays content from accounts that the user follows, but the algorithm analyzes individual behavior on the platform and offers a personalized selection of additional videos based on this information.
In addition, generally successful videos are suggested to users.
With this approach, TikTok is currently rapidly becoming a breeding ground for dangerous ideologies and destructive opinions.
“Trends” and “challenges” keep spreading that not only approve of radical behavior, but actually encourage it.
Just recently, the Anne Frank Frankfurt educational institution criticized TikTok for its careless handling of anti-Semitic content.
Inhumane “trends” are constantly being spread on TikTok.
© Kiichiro Sato/AP/dpa
Such a “trend” also emerged from the song “L'Amour Toujours” by Gigi D'Agostino, which was first released in 2001.
Right-wing groups attributed a xenophobic refrain to the catchy melody of the party hit.
Until recently, you could still find all sorts of videos on the platform of people celebrating at village festivals or other events, belting out the song: “Foreigners out, Germany for the Germans, foreigners out.”
The first videos with the radical slogans from a disco in Kalbach in eastern Hesse began circulating as early as November 2023.
Two students from the Lahn-Dill district also took part in this “trend” this year and shared a video of themselves on the social network.
State security was called in in both cases on suspicion of sedition.
For students from the Lahn-Dill district, xenophobia was a “trend” on TikTok
The investigations against the two 16-year-olds from the Lahn-Dill district are currently still with the Central Hesse police, but will soon be handed over to the Wetzlar public prosecutor's office.
As the LKA Hesse informed this editorial team when asked, the students are listed as the culprits and must now expect further steps.
Interrogations of the accused and witnesses as well as the evaluation of any video material that may have been produced are planned.
According to the LKA Hesse, many young people are not necessarily aware of the consequences of such actions and often do not know that they are committing a crime.
There is therefore an inherent danger from the platform.
Inexperience and the need to belong to a group led to young people acting rashly.
Meron Mendel from the Anne Frank Frankfurt educational center also warns against half-truths, misinformation and propaganda that young people would be confronted with on TikTok.
If you use your smartphone for many hours a day, this could have an impact on political socialization.
When asked, the Hessian Ministry of Culture explained that incidents of extremist behavior were taken very seriously.
There are numerous prevention measures and projects to strengthen democratic values among students.
The case in the Lahn-Dill district will also be dealt with later in class.
My news
“At the top of many Germans’ bucket lists”: Condor will soon be heading to a new holiday destination
“Dear William, you shouldn’t die in the animal shelter”: Dog grandpa whines for a new home read
20 minutes ago
Court decides: Cartographer's million-dollar lawsuit against EZBlesen
Truck driver wants to collect lost tension straps - shortly afterwards he and a driver are dead
Serious allegations: Did a 15-year-old announce attacks and rampages via the emergency call?read
Danger for cyclists: Who can ride here first? read
Investigations are currently underway against two students from the Lahn-Dill district on suspicion of incitement to hatred.
© Boris Roessler/dpa
Danger from TikTok: Company asserts measures to address hatred and incitement
Based on the content viewed and interactions with it, the algorithm specifically divides the TikTok user into an echo chamber.
This echoes almost exclusively one's own opinion and creates the impression of social uniformity, as deviating attitudes are actively ignored.
Luise Wolff, social media manager from Frankfurt, explains that content must be well produced so that someone can see it.
Speed and dynamism are also important.
The AfD has made a name for itself on TikTok because the party has had a large presence on the platform for a long time and with many accounts.
“Racism, anti-Semitism, anti-queer sentiment – you can find it all on TikTok,” Wolff told the
hessenschau
.
Hate and agitation are part of everyday business, although the company itself told the
hr
that these have no place on TikTok.
Content related to the Gigi D'Agostino song would be constantly checked and xenophobic videos and comments would be deleted immediately.
TikTok assured the hessenschau
that more than 40,000 experts and specially designed AI technology are in use to ensure user safety and compliance with platform guidelines
.
Right-wing groups on TikTok: Subliminal symbols become codes on social media
According to the Ministry of Culture, social media platforms and especially TikTok are the “gateway” for radical groups due to their low-threshold access.
Here, xenophobic and inhumane ideologies can be published quickly and seemingly uncontrolled and spread widely.
The song “L'Amour Toujours” is just one of many symbols and codes that are understood as a clear signal in the right-wing scene.
So-called ciphers can only be deciphered in their true meaning by members of a certain echo chamber.
At first glance, to the unbiased eye, they appear harmless and innocent.
The same goes for the 2000 party hit.
Although you can no longer find a video of the right additional chorus on TikTok, numerous content with the original song shows the now indirect influence.
In the comments there are frequent references to the xenophobic refrain and other subliminal right-wing symbols as identifying features for right-wing radicals.
Prominent is the number sequence 444. This stands for three times the fourth letter in the alphabet and corresponds to the right-wing slogan “Germany for the Germans,” according to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Several videos circulated on TikTok of revelers chanting xenophobic slogans to the well-known song by Gigi D'Agostino.
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/Symbolbild
Is it all just fun?
Xenophobia becomes a “trend” on TikTok
Many users on TikTok are trying to trivialize the new popularity of the party hit as a right-wing anthem and joke about the xenophobic slogans.
The hook potential of the new line is becoming increasingly widespread.
Even if many users still distance themselves from right-wing ideology, they are uncritical of the inhumane refrain and downgrade it to thoughtless but innocent nonsense.
However, the LKA Hesse makes it clear that such “trends” are not harmless fun or trivial offenses, but rather a criminal offense.
A trend reversal can be seen in society, explains Tina Dürr from the Hesse Democracy Center in Marburg.
Right-wing extremist attitudes are generally increasing and have recently been observed particularly among young people.
With ubiquitous access to the Internet, these dangerous ideologies are particularly exposed.
In the past, however, the older generation was more inclined to such extremist views.
Meron Mendel sees the situation critically: “These young people hold up a mirror to society.”
Hate and hate speech on TikTok: Success through algorithms
The TikTok problem will not solve itself, explains Luise Wolff.
“We ignore TikTok until it's no longer there, it doesn't work.” Due to its image as a “fun platform”, the relevance and influence of the social network is still underestimated.
Luise Wolff warns that the social media platform TikTok has a hitherto underestimated influence on society.
© Boeckheler
The algorithm is merciless and only reacts through interaction with a video, regardless of whether the interaction is positive or negative.
Especially when it comes to racist content, many users comment angrily in the supposed spirit of a good cause, but fall victim to the algorithm's scam.
A comment signals interest, which means the post can generate even more reach.
This could encourage the spread of extremist or anti-Semitic content, warns Wolff.
The 26-year-old wrote her bachelor's thesis at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences on strategies against anti-Semitism on TikTok and was even awarded the Johanna Kirchner Prize for it.
Wolff calls for more educational work about how the platform works, without being didactic or moralizing, because then an automatic defensive attitude arises.
In addition, the platforms themselves would have to be held more responsible in order to identify and remove dangerous content more quickly and effectively.
(Maibrit Schültken)