From asteroids to vampires to wendigos to killer asteroids, TikTok users are concocting outlandish apocalyptic conspiracy theories, another misinformation trend on a platform whose fate in the United States hangs in the balance, researchers say. In a trend reported by the nonprofit Media Matters, TikTok users are seeking to monetize viral videos that make baseless claims that the U.S. government is secretly capturing or preserving mythical monsters, including King Kong.
This is the latest example of misinformation circulating on the platform. The stubborn issue has been largely absent from recent policy debates as U.S. lawmakers consider banning the Chinese-owned app on national security grounds.
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The videos, many of which have received millions of views, are often accompanied by creepy background music and feature imperious voices generated by artificial intelligence, sometimes even impersonating celebrities.
“We’re all probably going to die in the next few years. Did you hear this?” says a voice imitating podcaster Joe Rogan in a viral video.
“This asteroid is on a collision course with Earth,” the voice claims, citing information leaked by a government official who stumbled across a folder titled “Confidential from the Public.”
At least one account peddling the video appears to have been suspended after AFP contacted TikTok for comment.
“Very attractive”
Abbie Richards, a TikTok misinformation researcher, said conspiracy theory videos, often posted by anonymous accounts, often have telltale signs of AI-generated imagery, such as extra fingers and contortions.
Richards said there could be financial rewards for peddling such theories, with TikTok’s “creative program” designed to pay creators for content generated on the platform.
This has spawned what she calls a cottage industry of conspiracy theory videos powered by artificial intelligence tools, including text-to-speech applications that are widely and freely available online.
A TikTok spokesperson insisted that “conspiracy theories are not eligible to earn money or be featured in users’ feeds.”
“Harmful misinformation is prohibited and our security teams proactively remove 95% of misinformation before it is reported,” she told AFP.
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Still, tutorials on platforms like YouTube show users how to create “viral conspiracy theory videos” and monetize TikTok’s creative agenda.
One tutorial openly instructs users to start by making up something “shocking,” such as “Scientists were just caught hiding a saber-toothed tiger.”
“Financial incentives for content that is highly engaging and cheap to produce create an environment for conspiracy theories to flourish,” Richards wrote in the Media Matters report.
Threats of Artificial Intelligence
Such concerns are particularly acute in a year of major elections around the world, driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
Last week, the EU used its powerful Digital Services Act (DSA) to pressure platforms, including TikTok, to focus on artificial intelligence (including the risk from deepfakes) in the upcoming EU elections in 27 countries the risks brought about.
In the United States, where the app has about 170 million users — about half the country’s population — lawmakers last week overwhelmingly backed a bill to ban TikTok unless Chinese parent company ByteDance bans it within six months. divest business.
The bill still needs to pass the more cautious upper house of Congress, risking anger among young voters in a crucial election year.
U.S. policymakers have repeatedly expressed concerns about TikTok’s alleged ties to the Chinese government, the security of user data, and its apparent impact on national security.
A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the Chinese government is using TikTok to expand its global influence, promote pro-Beijing rhetoric and undermine American democracy, including through disinformation.
“Disinformation should be part of the debate about TikTok,” Aynne Kokas, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, told AFP.
However, many experts, as well as younger users who rely on the app as their main source of news, oppose banning TikTok, saying it would be unfair to single out the platform.
Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told AFP: “Like other social media platforms, there is a lot of misinformation on TikTok. Some of that misinformation is dangerous. “
“(But) giving the government the power to suppress misinformation, or banning Americans from platforms that contain misinformation, is not a sensible response to this problem. It is not a constitutional response,” he added.
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