Social media app TikTok removes Islamic State propaganda videos
Beijing, Oct 22 (AFP/APP): Social media app TikTok has taken down accounts that were posting propaganda videos for the Islamic State group, a company employee said Tuesday, in the latest scandal to hit the popular platform.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Byte Dance, claimed some 500 million users globally last year, making it one of the most popular social apps.
An employee at TikTok told AFP that about 10 accounts were removed for posting the videos.
“Only one of those videos even had views that reached into double digits before being taken down,” said the staffer, who declined to be named.
The videos featured corpses being paraded through streets and Islamic State fighters with guns, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story on Monday.
The Journal said the posts were from about two dozen accounts, which were identified by social media intelligence company Storyful.
“Content promoting terrorist organizations have absolutely no place on TikTok,” the company said in a statement emailed to AFP.
“We permanently ban any such accounts and associated devices as soon as identified, and we continuously develop ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity,” it said.
