TikTok feeds have transformed into a new experience for many users in light of the War between Russia and Ukraine. Users have recently complained about scrolling through mundane content including funny animals, useful lifehacks, or DIY projects and without trigger warning then being shown live action from the devastation in Ukraine. A Twitter user explains the strange phenomenon in a Tweet, “Twitter feels especially dystopian on nights like this. Tweets about war mixed in with sports, memes, etc like it’s all of the same importance. Don’t think we were meant to absorb info like this.”
Users have deemed the transformed platform “War Tok”. Vox reporter Rebecca Jennings explains this was never what TikTok intended to become. When the popular app was created in 2018 it promoted itself as a carefree place to share content with the goal of allowing users to enjoy comical, lighthearted content. Contrary to the creator’s vision for the platform Jennings notes, “Over the past three years, TikTok has become the site of political commentary, political activism, political propaganda, and in moments of war, a complicated, confusing, and sometimes crucial record of civilians on the ground.”
Other complaints have surfaced about scammers benefiting from the war by way of fake relief funds which are being promoted on the platform. War Tok is also under fire for the spread of misinformation and fake news. Mainly out-of-context audio clips and video have been circulating within the app gaining millions of views despite TikTok’s community guidelines that does not permit misinformation that causes harm to individuals or the larger public regardless of intent. One video posted on the platform showed Russian soldiers parachuting into Ukraine but was actually several years old. Another clip claimed to show Russian and Ukrainian troops “face to face,” but it dated back to 2014. And an ultra-viral video, which supposedly depicted Ukrainian soldiers saying goodbye to sobbing loved ones, was cut from a 2017 documentary film.
According to Sprinklr, War Tok has been mentioned over 10K times across platforms and has reached a total of 34.08 Million feeds since Russia declared the invasion of Ukraine on February 24th. Trending hashtags surrounding the War Tok content include #ukraine, #war, #tiktok, #putin, and #russian. The overall sentiment within this conversation is overwhelmingly negative. 91.4% of mentions include negative sentiment reflective of the short comings of the platform since the war began.
While this is not the first time a major social media platform has been receiving backlash for the spread and promotion of misinformation, in the context of war, users are not hesitating to share their discontent and have threatened to boycott the app.
Although fake news has been swirling around TikTok, the situation in Ukraine is very much real. An estimated 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries and European Union officials predicted that upwards of 7 million could eventually be displaced. If you would like to donate to an organization on the ground that is ensuring the safety and health of fleeing refugees, please visit one of the following links:
https://www.airbnb.org/ – The Air BnB organization ensures safe housing during times of crisis.
https://www.care.org/?_ga=2.153724984.1601197845.1646750438-1182808869.1646750438 – CARE provides food, water, hygiene kits and medical attention to those in need.
https://convoyofhope.org/response-updates/convoy-reaching-out-to-help-in-ukrainian-crisis/ – The Convoy of Hope is providing families with meals at the polish border and funding to resettle.
The next time you are scrolling through TikTok, be sure to consume it’s content carefully as it pertains to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
