New from me: Examining white supremacist trends on TikTok.
It is crucial that we understand the role TikTok plays in the amplification and reiteration of violent extremist content.
Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are.
I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was long overdue. This is the 2021 version.
Shaming people who believe illogical things just pushes them further into their radicalization networks.
Disinformation is everywhere. We need to teach people how to spot it early.
This is my Conspiracy Chart. I think it helps.
I’m getting a lot of requests to post this here as well. I’m working a revision (I didn’t expect this to blow up) that I’ll post soon. Some things need to be moved/clarified (i.e. Antifa Wildfires and moon landing + flat earth which are moving up)
I should clarify: I’m not saying Iran-Contra didn’t happen. This was meant to imply we have questions about Reagan’s involvement. That is why it’s in the “we have questions” category. Sorry, that could’ve been more clear.
A fake TikTok from Ukraine has garnered over 5 million views in 12 hours.
It features a couple repeating “oh my god, oh my god” then there’s a loud explosion, screaming and he saw “ow my leg.”
I found this exact audio on another video from the 2020 Beirut explosion.
Apparently Twitter likes my Conspiracy Theory Chart. Here’s a link to a pdf of it. I don’t think it’s perfect and I’m still trying to make it better! ?
Alongside stories about TikTok being flooded with Ukraine war footage, I’m seeing academics say “TikTok has never been used this way before.”
This is false and it says much more about how academics & journalists have regarded TikTok than it says about the app.
(Thread)
What a wildly patronizing and misogynistic way to talk about me and my work. The
@guardian
would NEVER have described a male researcher/communicator like this.
No one becomes radicalized overnight. It takes time and lots of small steps in that direction.
This video is an example of what those steps might look like as an individual increasingly believes illogical and dangerous things.
New research study from me and
@OliviaLittle
:
Engagement with transphobic content was enough to push a user’s feed into a far right rabbit hole in just a matter of hours.
I honestly can’t explain this one. I’m curious if it’s possible it’s related to higher ethanol dilution levels.
Some people think it’s COVID. Maybe it could be a collective psychological phenomenon?
I can’t find any fact checks. So this is me atting the fact checkers
As the Wayfair conspiracy goes viral again on TikTok, I want to examine the culture of conspiracy theories on the platform.
Conspiracy theories aren’t just occasional, random videos on TikTok, there is an entire creative economy which supports them.
Thread⬇️
Hi… I’m here. I literally research disinformation and extremism on TikTok specifically. And from where I stand, the problem isn’t that there aren’t young researchers. The problem is that we aren’t being invited into the room.
Why on earth is it necessary to compare my looks to anyone- let alone a notoriously problematic actress?
I am an expert in my field. There are zero reasons to talk about me like this.
Meanwhile on TikTok the users have convinced themselves April 24th is “National Rape Day” despite there being no actual evidence of the original threat.
Though well intentioned, these viral “awareness” videos are causing mass panic and traumatizing survivors.
The way true crime turns real people’s trauma into entertainment for profit is already disgusting. But watching it unfold in real time with Gabby Petito’s case is nauseating.
So let’s explore TikTok users’ unhealthy obsession with her disappearance.
I don’t just “simplify big ideas” in a “sugar coated glass of coke” and maybe if you hadn’t wasted word space calling me “chirpy” and a “Lena Dunham lookalike” you could’ve mentioned my published research.
An Open Letter to Spotify: A call from the global scientific and medical communities to implement a misinformation policy.
Signed by 260 doctors, nurses, scientists, and educators.
Conspiracy theories are everywhere and people don't understand how harmful they are.
I made the original Conspiracy Chart over a year ago. An update was long overdue. This is the 2021 version.
I’ve had several journalists ask me if the Letter to America TikTok trend is inorganic or coordinated and the short answer is: we don’t know!
I will say, the accounts I’ve seen participating don’t strike me as particularly suspicious.
🧵⬇️
1/ Stop saying TikTok is “usually just an app for memes and dancing, not serious issues.” Remember when TikTokers supposedly trolled a Trump rally? That was 21 months ago.
TikTok's been a political tool for as long as it's been used by people who care about political issues.
In today’s paper: Families struggling to provide home health care would get a boost in the Democrats’ spending bill, but advocates say it’s not enough, putting TikTok to work in the climate fight, and more.
Here’s a visual depiction of our radicalized TikTok feed. Though we exclusively interacted with transphobic content, additional hateful narratives also increased.
Homophobia, misogyny, racism and calls to violence all increased with transphobic content engagement.
My debunk of a viral video pushing misinformation about adverse reactions to the COVID vaccine received 1.2 million views overnight on TikTok.
Comments like these indicate that countering viral anti-vax misinfo can help reduce anxiety around the vaccines.
TikTok’s platform design makes spreading misinformation about Ukraine easy. Just use an old audio. The audio used here is a year old.
Caption says “join live” because livestreams are profitable. There’s been a surge of fake Ukraine livestreams raking in donations on TikTok.
The media categorizes all climate activists as either
1. too radical
2. children
Stop calling me a teen. I’m getting my second degree in climate science and I’m pretty fucking sick of media coverage that depicts my work as something cute for adults to gawk at.
The Conspiracy Chart part 4:
Science Denial
Conspiracies are rooted in anxiety and they increase during times of instability. It makes sense why they’re on the rise right now.
These videos are crime-porn often under the guise “awareness.” Supporting a victim and her family does not include pouring through her intimate details and then broadcasting them for attention and profit on social media.
You are not a detective. Log off.
Dear TikTok,
I’m sorry for posting the video that showed all the threats I get from Nazis online. You were right to remove it.
I won’t talk about the violent rhetoric I experience on your platform anymore. From now on I’ll just internalize it.
Love,
Abbie
The number of low ranking, underpaid civil servants that would have to be involved in a massive voter fraud initiative is mind boggling.
Imagine being paid minimum wage to commit treason.
I spoke with more than half a dozen extremism/disinformation experts for this video. It’s so important and if it doesn’t blow up I’m just gonna repost it every day till it does I guess 🤷🏼♀️
Hello my name is Joe Rogan. Welcome to the marketplace of ideas!
This is my friend! He’s a white supremacist. I’m gonna let him on my podcast whenever he wants.
Omg! Don’t like listen to his ideas tho!!
Lmao wanna wrestle me? xx
My takeaways from
#QIntoTheStorm
by
@CullenHoback
1. Ron Watkins is (probably) Q
2. There is a magic Twitter tool??
3. If HBO ever interviews me I can request to be any CGI insect of my choice
4. My choice is a bumble bee.
8/8 If you are saying either that TikTok has never been used politically or that it’s never seen on-the-ground footage, you’re wrong. The new element here is the scale.
All you're really saying is that you’ve miscalculated and didn’t take TikTok seriously before this.
The Conspiracy Chart Part 4:
Science Denial
We have to understand the reasons WHY people reject science and the concept of “experts”
Also it’s super interesting 😊
A personal account from someone who was in QAnon and got out. It’s worth a read- especially if you have people in your life who subscribe to these beliefs.