… with social media as an innocent bystander just concidentally being there …
Social media - and Tiktok is no exemption, of course - is not an “innocent bystander”. Their algorithms deliberately surveill and manipulate users, and pursue a commercial and/or political agenda. In case of Tiktok, this agenda serves the goal of the regime in China (and their allies).
On ‘TikTok’s role in Romanian politics’ and the ‘Candidate Performance Metrics’, it says, among others:
Călin Georgescu: Notably surged in popularity, garnering 120 million views, particularly in the final two months. This increase was attributed to coordinated campaigns that used both direct promotion and indirect influence via unpaid influencers, often lacking appropriate labeling. A salient example is the #echilibrușiverticalitate campaign, which reached 2.4 million views through these tactics.
The analysis also says:
The lack of effective moderation allowed for widespread dissemination of unverified information, particularly affecting extreme-right candidates.
Concerns around unlabelled or undeclared political content in the 2024 Romanian presidential elections, particularly on TikTok are significant. They emphasize a lack of transparency in political campaigns, notably involving candidates like Călin Georgescu, who used the platform without disclosing the funding and motivations behind their promotion. The employment of influencers without adequate disclosure raises ethical issues complicates voters’ understanding of the content.
[…]
The notable gap between projected poll figures (around 10%) and actual results (over 22%) raises concerns about potential external influences, including foreign interference.
I reckon there’s gotta be a typo (or satire) in Oooops’ 2nd paragraph. It doesn’t fit to the first and I am relatively sure his POV is pretty similar to yours.
I on the other hand would suggest to be careful to assume everybody’s just brainwashed and by that questioning ever more election results and trying to revert them if unwanted.
People voting for fascists is not a thing brought upon us by foreign actors. It comes from within and we got to fight it here much more vigorously.
A recount of the votes cast in Sunday’s first round of presidential elections in Romania has been ordered by the country’s top court following allegations that social media platform TikTok gave “preferential treatment” to the surprise winner, Calin Georgescu.
@Ooops
Social media - and Tiktok is no exemption, of course - is not an “innocent bystander”. Their algorithms deliberately surveill and manipulate users, and pursue a commercial and/or political agenda. In case of Tiktok, this agenda serves the goal of the regime in China (and their allies).
There is ample evidence for Tiktok and (almost) all other social media platforms pursuing a purpose. For the Romanian election case, there is an analysis by the European Media Observatory on the Romanian election – (Archived link).
On ‘TikTok’s role in Romanian politics’ and the ‘Candidate Performance Metrics’, it says, among others:
The analysis also says:
Emphasis mine.
[Edit typo.]
I reckon there’s gotta be a typo (or satire) in Oooops’ 2nd paragraph. It doesn’t fit to the first and I am relatively sure his POV is pretty similar to yours.
I on the other hand would suggest to be careful to assume everybody’s just brainwashed and by that questioning ever more election results and trying to revert them if unwanted. People voting for fascists is not a thing brought upon us by foreign actors. It comes from within and we got to fight it here much more vigorously.
@bungalowtill@lemmy.dbzer0.com Yah, I forget surveillance algorithms are only bad when they come from the West, right? (/s, just to be safe)
In other related news:
Romania orders election recount after TikTok bias claims
Weird answer.
But yeah, I know about the recount. And I wonder: How can a recount change anything if the voters were already manipulated when they cast their votes?