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As the world turns to Russia’s war on Ukraine, another conflict is erupting – over cell phones.
In the information warfare, TikTok has become a battleground. Popular in the ranks of younger audiences, the popular platform for dance videos has become, for some, a source of information on the war in Ukraine.
With new and unverified material appearing on TikTok every second, some analysts worry that the platform often serves to mislead its users, who number about 1 billion worldwide.
“These can be used to inform people about what’s really happening on the ground,” said Jessica Brandt, policy director for the Brookings Institution’s initiative for artificial intelligence and emerging technology. “They can also be taken out of context and used to deceive or misinform.” “We are seeing all this happening during this conflict.”
TikTok is not the only social media app that has the power to misinform young people about the war in Ukraine. Ryan Locher, an American University student and creator of materials at TikTok with more than 18,000 followers, told VOA that he has seen a series of fake versions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict that are rapidly gaining ground in applications. other popular social media.
“I see it on Twitter, definitely on TikTok,” he told VOA. “It’s very easy to understand what these people are up to.”
Student perception
Mr Locher says he has spotted pro-Russian users on TikTok spreading conspiracy theories to justify Russia’s attack on Ukraine, ranging from accusations of Ukrainian biological weapons laboratories to the Nazi threat coming from Kiev.
While some false information tends to mislead, Mr. Locher says other material “stems from people’s previous beliefs as they try to establish their own worldview of the conflict.”
Andriana Markiv, a Ukrainian citizen studying at the American University in Washington, agrees. “Not everyone [dezinformimi] comes from a place of hatred; sometimes people who spread false news do not really know [se po veprojnë kështu]”, She said.
However, according to Ms. Markiv, some users intentionally publish false information to create controversy – and traffic – on social media platforms. “They do this to get likes and comments,” she added.
Regardless of the purpose, the abundance of misinformation about the war is worrying many Ukrainians.
“I call my family and hear them crying and then I go on social media and I see people saying that Ukraine is to blame for this war, or spreading pro-Russian propaganda. “I try to overcome this, because it is difficult,” said Ms. Markiv.
Albina Tokakova, a Russian student living in the United States, believes Russians and Ukrainians are using social media to spread information that best suits their nation’s interests. She said some seek to justify Russian occupation, while others seek to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.
“I think it’s really difficult now to tell what is right and what is wrong and what the correct information is,” Tokakova told VOA.
She added that while there is a lot of misinformation spreading on TikTok, the platform has also served to make public the Ukrainians’ efforts to survive the Russian occupation.
Chinese ownership
Since TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd, some worry that it serves as a Beijing tool to influence the views and perceptions of people around the world.
Matthew Lee, a student at the American University School of International Service, does not use TikTok.
“We see a lot of nationalist things being said on Chinese social media, a lot of pro-Russian things, and because of the tight control they have over everything, it’s hard to say if they are real people, or people the government pays for,” he said. “He said these things,” Lee told VOA.
Some analysts believe this is part of a larger strategy by the Chinese government to manipulate information to fit its version, whether about the war in Ukraine or a number of geopolitical issues.
“I think China has used information manipulation to form views on issues that are of geopolitical importance to it,” he said. “These efforts have been going on for a long time and I think they will continue to grow,” said Ms Brandt of the Brookings Institution.
Students at American University told VOA they are doing what they can to combat misinformation. Having been born in Russia, Ms. Tokakova seeks to correct false versions of her country.
Mr. Loher told VOA that he uses the TikTok reporting option to mark videos that contain false information. “I also sent a message to some of the creators [të materialeve të rreme]”, He added.
While Ms. Markiv advises social media users to be wary of the content they consume, adding that while the war in Ukraine may seem distant to Americans, “you [mund të] have students in your class or friends who are experiencing this along with their families [ukrainase]”./VOA
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