The Washington Post-TikTok says it removed an influence campaign originating in China
May 23, 2024 3 min 548 words
这篇报道主要内容是：TikTok（抖音国际版）近期封禁了数千个账号，这些账号属于15个隐秘的影响力运作网络，其中包括第二个规模最大的中国影响力运作网络。TikTok在美国受到威胁，因为其母公司是中国企业字节跳动。今年2月，TikTok删除了16个位于中国的账号，这些账号宣传中国执政的共产党政策和文化。TikTok表示，该网络有11万个关注者。在去年第二季度，该公司删除了一个拥有14.1万粉丝的中国信息运作网络。 评论：这篇报道存在一定偏见，但同时也反映出一些值得关注的问题。首先，报道将TikTok的公司背景与中国执政的共产党联系起来，并强调其在美国面临的威胁，具有明显的倾向性。但TikTok作为一家跨国公司，其内容审核和社区管理政策应遵守当地法律法规，这本身无可厚非。其次，报道中提到的影响力运作网络，需要更多细节来判断其性质。报道中没有详细说明这些账号具体发布什么内容，以及这些内容是否违反了平台规则或当地法律。因此，TikTok有必要提供更多透明的信息，来澄清相关质疑。同时，这也反映出一些外国媒体对中国企业在海外发展的影响力运作存在一定担忧，中国企业在海外的公共关系和传播策略也需要进一步完善。
2024-05-22T22:31:00.698Z
Dominant short-video platform TikTok said Thursday that it had taken down thousands of accounts that belonged to 15 covert influence operations in the first four months of this year, including the second largest such network detected from China.
The company, which is under threat in the United States because of its Chinese ownership, said that in February it removed 16 accounts based in China that promoted the policies of the ruling Chinese Communist Party as well as Chinese culture. The network had 110,000 accounts following it, TikTok said. In the second quarter of last year, the company took down a different Chinese information operation that had 141,000 followers.
Some of the accounts impersonated celebrities or leading creators to build their audience, according to TikTok, which said the campaign was aimed at people in the United States.
Overwhelmingly popular with young people who increasingly rely on it as a news source, TikTok sued the U.S. government this month to overturn a law requiring its China-based parent ByteDance to sell off the company or face a possible ban.
One of the most significant technology policy bills enacted in a decade by an often deadlocked Congress, the law cast TikTok as a threat to national security because, officials said, it might obtain sensitive data about American users and could indoctrinate them into beliefs supporting China’s global ambitions. No such campaign has been reported, however.
Some legal experts give the company’s legal action a good chance of succeeding, owing to free-speech rights of 170 million U.S. users and the bill’s focus on a single company. The company says it will not be sold.
While TikTok has taken down propaganda networks before, it is now moving to highlight those efforts as it fights for survival in the United States. The company said it will break out influence campaign takedowns in a separate transparency report, instead of combining summaries of its actions in a broader report that comes out once every three months.
Company spokesperson Jamie Favazza said that takedown reports could also come out closer to when TikTok acts, rather than being kept back for quarterly release.
As with other social networks and media platforms, influence operations are common on TikTok and often evade detection. Russia has recently increased its presence on TikTok, The Washington Post reported earlier this month.
Unlike the Chinese network, which targeted users outside China, most of the covert operations TikTok reported dismantling so far this year originated in the same country as their target audience.
Among the largest were a pro-Ukraine campaign aimed at an audience there that amassed more than 2 million followers, another one targeting Iraqis with anti-American and anti-Israeli content that had 448,000 followers, and an internal Indonesian campaign promoting one presidential candidate’s narratives to 148,000 followers.
In most cases, TikTok discovered the campaigns on its own. It does not attribute any of them to a specific government or private actor, and it did not release the names of the suspended accounts.
In a year filled with elections around the world, TikTok also said it would add to its policies that identify state-controlled media outlets. Those accounts will only be able to advertise in their home markets, and they will not appear in the recommended feed for viewers elsewhere.