TikTok has removed over 3.1 million videos made in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza, and suspended an additional 140,000 livestreams, according to a spokesperson for the video-sharing app. The removed content included material that promoted Hamas, hate speech, violent extremism, and misinformation.

This removal is part of a larger effort by TikTok to moderate content on its platform, which resulted in the removal of nearly 78.3 million videos globally from October 7 to March 31. Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, TikTok fine-tuned its automated content moderation technology, resulting in a 234% increase in removed violative comments in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza.

Despite these efforts, TikTok has faced allegations of allowing antisemitic and anti-Israel content on its platform. A survey in November suggested that users became 17% more antisemitic for every 30 minutes spent watching videos on the platform. Additionally, the company’s top lobbyist in Israel resigned in January due to alleged anti-Israel bias.

TikTok has also faced criticism for removing content that is not in violation of its community guidelines, such as a video by relatives of the hostage Bibas family calling for their release. The company blamed a technical fault for the removal.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)