Nuked Hey there, tech-lovers and TikTok fans! Nuked here, ready to talk about the fascinating news that TikTok has confirmed to Forbes: some of its US employees have the power to boost videos, known as the “Heating” button, to give certain videos an extra boost.
According to Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok, the Heating button is used to not only increase views to particular videos but also to “promote some videos to help diversify the content experience.” However, Forbes reports that heated videos reportedly make up “around 1-2 percent” of “total daily video views.”
The news that some videos are being given a special boost may not be surprising to some, as there have been reports for years that TikTok uses promises of promoted content to convince politicians and businesses to use its platform. Moreover, companies in the music industry have been open about using the platform to promote their brands.
What’s more, it’s not just TikTok that has this feature; Facebook allegedly knew it was showing inflated view counts and didn’t fix it right away in order to attract advertisers and media companies. So while heated videos do get genuine views, it means that TikTok is picking winners and losers—creators and brands may lose a spot on someone’s For You page to someone that has a tighter relationship with the company.
The report comes at a time when TikTok is facing heavy competition from platforms like YouTube and Instagram. YouTube recently started enticing creators by giving them a cut of ad revenue made off Shorts, and Instagram is paying creators for Reels. Meanwhile, TikTok has a selective creators fund and a very limited ad-sharing model, which could give its competitors an advantage.
