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On TikTok, a secret button can make a video go viral. At least that is what an investigation by the magazine Forbes. According to this, the content that appears in the feed is not only due to an algorithm that knows what interests you in based on how you behave in the application. A group of employees would have the ability to promote content under unknown rules.
This movement, known internally as heating, aims to certain videos "reach a certain number of views"Such content would represent between 1% and 2% of the total daily video volume. "This could have a significant impact on overall core metrics," according to an internal TikTok report titled MINT Heating Playbook to which the American media has had access.
Furthermore, according to the six anonymous testimonies collected by the magazine, TikTok doesn't always use this tool to promote videos that might attract users, increase the variety of content, or promote specific messages. This is also for its own benefit.
This isn't the first time a tech giant has used this weapon. This is what Google and Instagram did, for example, during the pandemic when they partnered with health organizations to promote accurate information about COVID-19.
The difference is that while in those cases you clearly knew why you were receiving those messages, TikTok has not publicly acknowledged the heating. A practice that could be using it to "convince" people and brands by inflating the number of views on their videos, according to sources consulted by Forbes.
"This suggests that he heating has potentially benefited some influencers and brands—those with whom TikTok has sought business relationships— at the expense of others with whom it has not done so," the article maintains.
According to three anonymous testimonies, company employees have resorted to this to promote their own publications or those of their relatives. For example, use it in One such account received over 3 million views.
However, the The criteria for employees to decide what content to make viral on TikTok are not very clear, not even for them.
Under the name TikTok Heating Policy (something like TikTok's Heating Policy document states that employees can use this to "attract influencers" and "promote diverse content," but also to "highlight important information" and "promote relevant videos that have been overlooked by recommendation algorithms." Two sources said they were at a loss to determine whether a video fell within those guidelines.
In a written response to Forbes, TikTok has admitted to promoting certain videos "to help diversify content and introduce our community to emerging creators and other celebrities." However, the company claims that "only a select few, US-based individuals" are able to use this tool and that "the content makes up approximately 0.002% of the videos that appear in the 'For You' feed."
"We think that social networks are very democratizing. and give everyone an equal opportunity to reach an audience," Evelyn Douek, a professor at Stanford Law School and senior fellow at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told the outlet. This, in light of this, seems far from the truth.
"To some extent, the same old power structures are also reproduced in social media, where the platform can to some extent decide winners and losers, and commercial and other associations take advantage".
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