TikTok – Social Media Shaming

TIKTOK is a Chinese video social media app that is used world wide.  Beside their recent headlines about potential US ownership, there is another underlying issue that has been brewing within the video driven app.  The Intercept_ published documents where moderators were told to censor various elements of user’s content based on appearance.  This meant only chosen video content from the TIKTOK team would be seen and showcased to users worldwide.  The company published algorithms and guidelines for moderators to follow in order to block unwanted content.

Published by The Intercept_you can see discrimination towards “Abnormal body shape,” “ugly facial looks,” dwarfism, and “obvious beer belly,” “too many wrinkles,” “eye disorders,” and many other “low quality”.  This new type of social media shaming is occurring not only on the surface but within companies’ work practices.  There are other other areas of censoring that are ongoing such as political material that were also censored and pushed. Social media platforms struggle to create a safe and accepting environment for all.  Handicap Review strives to create an open and welcoming environment for everyone who’s looking for a safe non-judgmental outlet and community.