One of the most famous social media platforms in the world, TikTok, had mistakenly blocked the Hollywood WGA Strike from its search results, but after the initial reports, the company claims it is now back. This was because TikTok was dealing with a massive problem on the platform where QAnon conspiracies ran rampant lately, reportedly having similar initials to the Hollywood controversy.
The SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes remain a massive discussion on TikTok, with many content creators and users engaging with the topic that is relevant to the film and media industry of the country.
TikTok Restores Hollywood's WGA Strike Search Results
Media Matters for America first reported that TikTok removed the WGA Strike search results on the platform earlier today, with the platform's users unable to see the content from these keywords.
Among those affected were "WGA" and WGA strike" searches, despite the continuous updates from users, content creators, and other media outlets.
According to The Verge, when TikTok took notice of the report, it was immediately restored by the platform and there are no more problems with searching for it now.
TikTok confirmed to media outlets that it was accidentally blocked by the company, but did not mean to do so, as it was tackling another issue on the platform.
QAnon was the Target of TikTok, Not WGA
According to the TikTok spokesperson, Ben Rathe, TikTok was purging the platform of QAnon conspiracy theories and search results, whereas in the past, the company has banned user accounts and blocked QAnon hashtags.
Rathe did not reveal which search result or words were blocked by the company that affected WGA, but The Verge claimed it may be the slogan "WWG1WGA" (where we go one, we go all) commonly used by QAnon.
The SAG-AFTRA, WGA Strike
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America have joined hands in taking the fight to Hollywood in the second half of this year. One of the main focuses of this strike was Hollywood's decision to replace writers and other showrunners with AI replicas that would create content for future productions.
Of course, a massive part of the production would see it shedding human employees, essentially ridding people of their jobs in the mass media industry.
Earlier this year, amidst the Apple WWDC 2023, the WGA also held a strike to protest against the Cupertino giant, particularly for their complaints against the limited streaming library of Apple TV+.
The SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strike against Hollywood is one of the most iconic events in American mass media's history, and it saw massive names and entities joining to protest their advocacy. TikTok has accidentally removed WGA's search result as a result of a QAnon conspiracy theory purge but was made available immediately for the public to learn more and get updates via the platform.
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