While we thought Tiktok was a social network for dancing and funny challenges, the fastest growing social platform in the world has become the main place for shaping the minds of young people and their worldview. Young people who draw recommendations on shopping, entertainment and experiences from the social network have begun to formulate uncontrolled political opinions through the platform that encourage antisemitism.
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A survey by researchers from Harvard University in collaboration with The Harris Poll shows that one third of Americans aged 18-24 think that Israel has no right to exist. They believe that the way to end the conflict is to put an end to Israel and transfer its territory to Hamas. Furthermore, more than half of the young Americans think that the terrible massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7 was justified. The young TikTok users flood the network with misinformation and encourage, through short videos, sweeping support for the Palestinians with much of the content being antisemitic.
Israel is facing a troubling question these days: How can young Americans support the terrorist organization, raise donations for Gaza and promote agendas that encourage Hamas's activities after were attacked by Hamas, which murdered and continues to murder hundreds of people?
For those who have spent the last few months on TikTok, the answer is clear. This is a social network that is used to spread anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian content while sweeping young people, some of whom have no idea where Israel is located on the world map. The problem lies in the fact that the network not only distributes this content, but makes them viral and trendy.
Hamas realized a long time ago that the platform is dominated by a young, impressionable audience and that is why they invest a lot of resources in spreading their messages on Tiktok. While Israel was busy with advocacy attempts in various platforms, Hamas was busy shaping minds, after having understood the tremendous power of Tiktok.
A Trend-Producing Machine
When my 12-year-old son wants to go out to a restaurant or a movie, he doesn't use search engines, he just goes to TikTok and gets all the information he's looking for: where to hang out, what to eat, what music to listen to and what to wear. The algorithm learns what his preferences are, and knows how well enough to send him the recommendations that suit him best. When these recommendations come from a well-known TikTok star, the youngsters quickly adopt them and believe almost anything they are told. No wonder the sales market on TikTok generated an estimated revenue of $9.4 billion in 2022, and it is only expected to grow.
Today, Tiktok has approximately 150 million users in the US, and is considered the second most popular network in the country after YouTube. About two-thirds of Americans aged 18-29 say they consume news through Tiktok. The content is easy to consume for these young people, who are used to a fast and frantic pace.
Today, Tiktok has approximately 150 million users in the US, and is considered the second most popular platform in the country after YouTube. About two-thirds of Americans aged 18-29 say they consume news through Tiktok. The content is easy to consume for these young people, who are used to a fast and frantic pace.
The more pro-Palestinian videos there are, the more likely this content will return to your feed
Popular TikTok influencers with thousands of followers, have become news influencers in recent months. They summarize the news to their young audience and spoon-feed it in small portions, which come with their personal interpretation. As soon as the young viewer likes this type of content, the algorithm learns about their preferences and continues to offer similar content.
Tiktok is full of videos of IDF soldiers dancing, showing off their mustaches or recreating popular songs on one hand, but it also has endless versions of "from the river to the sea" chants by women dressed in keffiyehs. When viewers comment on one of these videos, or just watch it until the end, the algorithm recognizes their preference and offers them more content. The more pro-Palestinian videos there are, the more likely this content will return to your feed.
Hamas, having understood how Tiktok works, is also making sure to flood the platform with videos of civilians on Gaza's streets. These videos would inspire powerful reactions and empathy. At the beginning of the war, the videos of the dancing soldiers received hundreds of thousands of views, some even reached millions, but as time passed and the fighting in Gaza intensified, young Americans stopped watching these types of videos and their exposure gradually decreased.
Just this week, the Wall Street Journal published an article about an experiment it conducted. The newspaper's staff opened fictitious Tiktok accounts posing as 13-year-old children, and began to operate them with the help of bots. Just a few hours later, videos related to the war started appearing on their feed. Most of the videos that appeared on the "kids'" feed were pro-Palestinian. This means that the 13-year-old boy does not have to look for videos of bombs and injured children in Gaza - they just come to him. If he stops to watch one of the videos, the Tiktok's algorithm, like any social network, will start showing more and more similar videos on his feed.
Fake activism
Many studies show that Generation Z wants to be an activist. The changing trends on TikTok make young people adopt agendas quickly, even when they contradict each other. This way they can support sustainability, and at the same time be addicted to fast fashion.
When young people support a challenged population, it gives them a sense of value and the feeling that they are activists working for a better world. They do not bother to check the facts, nor are they interested in the historical, geographical or political context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Social media allows anyone to post videos and share any information they want. This is how Hamas supporters can broadcast videos 24/7 to an audience that follows them. They film the "atrocities" they go through and spread them in the Tiktok without any way to balance the narrative.
Young Americans overwhelmingly support the Black Lives Matter motto and movement. Almost 90% of young people support the fight against racism and police violence. It is even considered cool to write in their bio that they support the black minority. These young people feel the need to support the Palestinians as well. They feel that this makes them activists, morally just and most importantly, cool.
Boycott or join?
These days there are voices calling for Tiktok to be banned, to outlaw the social network in the U.S and to set restrictions that will protect the future of young people. On the other hand, we know that what young people want most is precisely what is forbidden, so they will probably find a way to still use the platform, even if It is not available or accessible. Is it even possible to ban the use of a social network in an advanced western world?
Maybe the solution should come from another direction. Perhaps the young Israelis should be taught how to change the narrative on TikTok. Maybe they will film themselves living their lives with rockets and siren, attending the funerals of their friends, but also studying, spending time and even falling in love in the midst of the terrible reality that has befallen upon us.
Maybe even the education system, which many complain is outdated, will start teaching how to stand out online and how to shoot viral videos and invoke the sympathy of people all over the world. We already know that emotion trumps all facts. Perhaps this is the only way we can embark on a new, refreshing and effective awareness campaign, because there is no doubt that our voice needs to be heard now, more than ever.
In response, Tiktok stated that it had removed more than 1.3 million videos in the Israel, Gaza, and West Bank regions from October 7 to November 30, for violating community rules; including hate speech, terrorism, misinformation, and content promoting Hamas. TikTok also states it removed violent and graphic content pertaining to the war.
Prominent TikTok trends since October 7
Bin Laden's 2002 manifesto becomes a trend
TikTok videos featuring Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America" have gone viral. The idea behind the videos is to encourage pro-Palestinian propaganda among young people. The video justifies the 9/11 attacks as revenge permitted by the Quran. Tiktok removed this content and banned it, but only after many had already been exposed to it.
The Quran reading trend
This trend also captured the trans and queers, who started uploading videos of themselves reading chapters from the Quran. What a shame they don't know the fate of queers according to Islam.
The watermelon trend
Using the colors of the watermelon - red, green, black and white, which are also the colors of the Palestinian flag, started to become popular to express support for Hamas. The watermelon first became an alternative to the Palestinian flag after the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel banned the display of the Palestinian flag in public. Tiktok users started using watermelon filters to evade the Tiktok algorithm and prevent content blocking.
Natalie Zohar is a researcher of trends and virtual platforms, a lecturer at Reichman University and a partner in the Pas Normal podcast.