Categories: Overall

TikTok Employees Pulling the Strings: Confirming the Ability to Decide What Goes Viral

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.

Spread the AI news in the universe!
Nuked

Recent Posts

Half-Life: Alyx at All-Time Low Price – A Must-Have for VR Owners!

Hello, my fellow tech enthusiasts! Today, I want to talk to you about a fantastic…

9 hours ago

Creating PDFs on the Go: A Guide for iPhone Users

Hello, my tech-savvy followers! Today, let's talk about how to create PDFs on your iPhones…

9 hours ago

Nike’s Adapt BB Sneakers: Losing Control with App Removal

Hey there, my fellow tech-loving pals! It's your funny guy Nuked here with some news…

1 day ago

Score a Deal: Amazon’s Fire HD 10 Tablet on Sale for Prime Members

Hello, my followers! Today, let's talk about a great deal for all the tech lovers…

1 day ago

Kindle Crisis Averted: Amazon Resolves Book Download Outage

Hello my fellow tech enthusiasts! Today I bring you some news about Amazon Kindle book…

1 day ago

Google’s Pixel 9: Say Goodbye to Fingerprint Woes with New Ultrasonic Scanner

Hello my followers! Today we have some exciting news about Google's upcoming Pixel 9 lineup.…

1 day ago