TikTok admits it: it can at its discretion make videos viral or not

Suspicions that some TikTok content could be piloted to success are finally confirmed. The company confirmed a Forbes that some of its employees in the USA have the ability to increase video views for “introducing emerging celebrities and creators to the TikTok community”.

The statement is part of a report on the use of TikTok’s fateful “Heating” button, which according to the source can be used to enter selected videos on users’ “For You” page, thus increasing views and bypassing the algorithm that is supposed to drive the TikTok experience.

However, TikTok spokesman Jamie Favazza wanted to clarify that increasing the views of specific videos is not the only reason behind this modus operandi. It also happens that the function is exploited to promote videos that help diversify the experience. Favazza also argued that TikTok doesn’t use this feature often, stating that only “0.002% of the videos on the “For you” page are the result of this particular drive. Yet the internal document obtained by Forbes dive far from it and the videos that received a visibility boost could reach about 1-2%” of the total daily video views.

Naturally, content of this type does not have a label to show that it has been promoted by TikTok, as is the case with advertisements or sponsored posts, but it appears like any other video that has appeared thanks to the algorithm.

The report is not surprising that much and to tell the truth TikTok is not the only social media platform to use artificial techniques to increase the visibility of videos. Facebook, for example, has been accused of displaying inflated view counts to attract advertisers and media-type companies to the platform.

But this method of promoting content it could have other negative implications and create an effect similar to that described for Facebook, i.e. users may think they have a better chance of succeeding on TikTok than they actually do. The report comes at a time when TikTok is facing stiff competition from platforms like YouTube and Instagram, who are providing more revenue opportunities for creators through advertising revenue sharing. Additionally, TikTok has a fund for select creators and a limited ad sharing model, which could give its competitors an edge.

Just at the end of December, TikTok provided more explanations on the mechanism for choosing the videos in the “For you” section, promising greater transparency in the future, but in the light of the new revelations, things are taking a completely new turn.