TikTok's 'Shadow-Promotion' Applies to Russian-Based Accounts; Banned Videos Still Keep on Showing Up

TikTok has been "shadow-promoting" banned content for Russian users, according to the latest report. Although the platform has already stopped live-streaming in the region, several accounts are still able to access these clips.

What is 'Shadow-Promotion?'

Tracking Exposed's head of research, Salvatore Romano, has given birth to a new word that some people might have already encountered in social media.

The word "shadow promotion" simply pertains to the silent promotion of clips to FYPs of For You Pages of some accounts. This occurs despite the platform's decision to make them unviewable to the creators' accounts.

Some situations are different from one another. While some accounts appear safe from the ban, new content could still pop up in users' feeds and even in other accounts.

According to a report by Wired, there's a study that Romano's team conducted from May to July 2022. The group tested using VPN so they could open TikTok using IP addresses in Russia.

At the time, they wanted to know how it feels to access a platform from the perspective of a Russian user. Usually, a person based in this country won't be able to view any digital content because of some restrictions.

Although it might take effect on other videos, some old clips are reportedly showing on FYPs. This means that when you are following Sputnik News and other Russian websites, new content will still appear from the account.

"TikTok will say, 'We removed this number of accounts, we blocked this amount of videos,' and so on. But if we don't have an independent way to assess not just the content, but also the algorithmic promotion of the content on the platform, we will never be able to assess if content moderation is actually in place or not," Romano said.

Most likely, Romano speculated that TikTok's shadow promotion had targeted Russian users who had lost track of their online feed. The platform might want to fill in some fresh content for their liking.

TikTok Wants to Stay Close to the Competition

Additionally, since the competition among digital platforms is becoming tighter, TikTok does not want to be left behind in this battle. The Chinese app desires to be a frontrunner in the market. That's why it does not fully eliminate Russian content from appearing.

Romano was also aware that TikTok has been receiving slightly better treatment than its competitors in Russia. To be exact, search engine giant Google was slapped with a $370 million fine last month because it could not delete a YouTube video that the Russian government flagged as "false."

However, when we look at TikTok in the same case, the Kremlin does not lay a sanction on the platform. As per Tracking Exposed's co-director Marc Faddoul, there might be serious implications that could happen in the future if TikTok continues to roll out its country-by-country approach.

How About Shadow-Banning?

Shadow ban and shadow promotion are somehow new terms that you might have heard recently. After discussing the latter, it's now time to know more about shadow-banning.

According to PopSugar, shadow-banning could be described as an approach where moderators hide content that they think is harmful to the users.

In short, this method will limit the visibility of your posts, videos, and other content. This will sound bad for influencers who are looking for more engagements on their page.

One of the reasons why a user is subject to shadow-ban is because of the continuous violation of the app's community guidelines. If what you're frequently posting or sharing is all about sensitive matters like hate speech, misinformation, and nudity, this could be a ground for this punishment.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry