Content Note: This video shows war content. The Ukraine war is also taking place on TikTok. Propaganda and disinformation are flooding the news feed. Images of deadly rockets in the sky, distraught prisoners of war and corpses on the streets are appearing on the smartphones of some of the young users. In real time. How can that be? Who is behind the numerous videos of the war? And who actually checks what we see on TikTok? TikTok wants to be a safe platform for its community. They are committed to the fight against disinformation. Among other things, through fact checking and content moderation. But with a self-test, we show how easily and quickly the TikTok algorithm suggests almost exclusively war content and propaganda. The bitter reality: TikTok has become a battlefield in the Ukraine war. Journalist Tasnim Rödder speaks for VOLLBILD with social media warriors on the Russian and Ukrainian sides. A whistleblower from TikTok also gives insights behind the scenes of the content platform from China. So what is the truth behind the social media platform’s promise to be “committed to combating the spread of misinformation on the platform” and a place “where authentic and trustworthy content thrives”? _______________ IN VIDEO: Tasnim Rödder on Twitter: / tasnim_ro _______________ CREDITS: Authors: Tasnim Rödder, Lara Olbeter, Sebastian Weis Editing: Ángel García Giménez Camera: Sebastian Weis, Roman Petrusyak (Ukraine) Drone Operator: Christian Napiorkowski Creative Director: Nicolas de Leval Jezierski Motion Design: Nicolas de Leval Jezierski, Kirstin Kassen Social Media Editor: Fabian Mirau Editor Labo M: Luise Hermann, Cem Bozdoğan, Asmund Nottekämper Production Labo M: Josefine Beitel, Julia Ulrich, Hendrik Neumann Editor SWR: Birgitta Weber, Achim Reinhardt, Thomas Oberfranz Production SWR: Andreas Hausmann, Jan Kist _______________ VOLLBILD: Research that shows more. Help us to develop VOLLBILD further! Topic suggestions and tips to: [email protected] Netiquette: https://www.swr.de/netiquette Imprint: https://www.swr.de/impressum/ Data protection declaration: https://www.swr.de/datenschutz #DarkTok CHAPTERS: 00:00 Intro: What role does TikTok play in the Ukraine war? 01:27 How does warfare work online? 04:22 The hype about warfluencer Storm Balderson - what's behind it 06:36 Banning, propaganda and co - this is how TikTok operates in war 07:18 How do influencers like Deniz Krabag spread war content? Which networks are there? 12:01 Disinformation and propaganda - what is legal? What are the platforms interested in? 12:47 Self-experiment: How much is war content supported by the algorithm? 15:18 How does TikTok deal with reported content? A content moderator reveals all 18:03 Under what conditions do content moderators work at TikTok? 19:03 Confrontation & statement: What does TikTok say about our research? 19:46 What motivates warfluencer Storm Balderson to do what he does? 21:17 Confrontation: How does Deniz Karabag justify the spread of right-wing extremist content by his club? 22:36 Freedom of speech vs. disinformation and propaganda: What role does social media play in war? 23:24 Conclusion: How can TikTok end the TikTok war?