The company has confirmed that its US staff members have the power to boost content following the publication of a Forbes investigation that exposed a hidden button used to advertise films on TikTok. TikTok admits secret ‘heating’ button that promotes videos.
According to The Verge, the chosen films are promoted in order to “bring famous and upcoming producers to the TikTok audience.”
The Forbes article claims that TikTok has a “heating” button that adds chosen films to users’ “For You” pages, increasing views by getting around the algorithm that powers the platform.
TikTok admits secret ‘heating’ button that promotes videos. Contrary to a Forbes figure of 1-2%, TikTok admits to boosting 0.02% of videos and claims that workers were also involved in the decision.
A spokesperson for TikTok, Jamie Favazza, told Forbes, “increasing views to certain videos isn’t the only reason for heating but that TikTok will also “promote some videos to help diversify the content experience”.
Favazza also said that only “.002% of videos in For You feeds” are heated, which runs contrary to the Forbes report that obtained internal documents claiming “around 1-2 percent” of “total daily video views.” According to the report, heated videos did not display a label indicating that it has been boosted by TikTok, but appeared as videos selected by the algorithm.
According to earlier allegations, TikTok has been enticing politicians and companies to use its platform by promising to boost their content. According to a Forbes report, staff at the company promote videos from friends, partners, and even their own accounts while posting inflammatory stuff that is inappropriate.
