TikTok’s ‘Heating’ Button Can Make Anyone Go Viral | Hacker News Reader

TikTok’s ‘Heating’ Button Can Make Anyone Go Viral

forbes.com

22 pointsLLcolD13 comments

This sort of thing is why this app needs to be banned, because that heating button is under the control of the CCP.

If tiktok should be banned then I would demand Instagram, YouTube and Facebook also be banned as their "heating" button is under the control of US companies and their coorperate interests.

This from a European perspective. "Propaganda apps" in control by foreign governments and companies that may not align with European ideals and values.

It's a fair take, but I wouldn't be as worried because there are a lot more guards and protections for American companies, and America is broadly and ally of Europe.

I wouldn't worry if there was a European company with a button that made things more popular, as an American. I would probably worry about EU law regulating what is allowed to be said or not though.

Go make an app with a heating button under EU control please

I am just making the point that banning tiktok is not the solution to the problem that the US now has because a foreign entity runs the most popular app when it wasn't the case before.

Sure, you make a good point if you ignore the political ideology in US vs. China and the fact that all the social media apps you just listed are banned in China.

Using fsociety as a handle while not immediately seeing capitalism as a political ideology that, when turned up to 11 (as in America) many consider harmful is absolutely perfect.

Spotify has this for artists

I have read this claim multiple times, yet it seems there is trending tiktok content all over other western plattforms like instagram or youtube aswell.

To me all those plattforms are mainly optimising for engagement and tiktok seems to have found a better performing format for that metric. Otherwise the major players wouldn't be copying it.

Wouldn't actively interfering withviral content be detrimental to the platform? Is there anything to back the claim that it is actually happening?

There's tons of good content on TikTok - the problem is that it has massive potential as a weapon/propaganda platform. If you wait until it's used as a weapon, you've waited way way too long.

all social media platforms can do this.

The concept of virality has always been a sham. Whether it’s crypto botnets, corporate astroturfing, or state sponsored misinformation there have always been fingers on the scale pushing some topics into the mainstream regardless of their true popularity.

The biggest problem has been that fake viral stories have become a substitute for real journalism.

Don't hacker news mods also have a heating button?

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