TikTok Employees Pushed Certain Videos to Guarantee Certain Views

Per Forbes

TikTok has confirmed that some of its and ByteDance's employees applied a "manual push" on certain videos to boost its views. This meant that the employees could choose which videos would go viral.

The social platform has previously described its algorithmic For You Page, where users will get a personalized feed depending on the videos they watch. However, if new information is verified, this could mean that TikTok and ByteDance employees have a greater say on which videos go viral and which ones don't.

The news came from six current and former employees of both TikTok and ByteDance who revealed to Forbes how the staff could hand-pick certain videos. The process was called "heating," and it would push certain videos to further their reach.

An internal TikTok document called MINT Heating Playbook shared the heating process and how it works. The documents also describe just how these heated videos affect views.

“The total video views of heated videos accounts for a large portion of the daily total video views, around 1-2%, which can have a significant impact on overall core metrics.”

No official disclosure has come from TikTok regarding its heating practices compared to its competitors. Although heating also exists for other platforms, they still ensure to highlight when a certain video is heated.

This comes at a time that TikTok is trying to win back the good favor of the US government after Biden decided to ban the use of the social platform from government employee phones. The bill that mandated the app's removal was called the "Electoral Count Act."

TikTok has tried to win over the US with its $1.5 billion reorganizing plan focused on transparency. The Chinese-owned app is still trying to win over allies in the US, as drastic implications could mean it would be forced to leave the US or sell its operations to other companies.

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Forbes