Russian propaganda influences US elections through TikTok

In the run-up to the US presidential election, many Russia-linked accounts are popping up on TikTok that spread disinformation in English and Spanish. This is stated in a new report from the Brookings Institution.

Russian propaganda through TikTok is trying to reach a younger audience, the publication says. The report’s authors note that the audience reach of propaganda resources is higher on Telegram and social network X, but user engagement (likes, views, reactions) is much higher on TikTok.

According to analysts, the average level of engagement on TikTok is about 100 thousand per post – this is three and a half times more than in Telegram, and 20 times more than in X.

in the report noted, that the main goal of political posts that Russian accounts are likely to publish is to create discord in society. The drafters of the document call this approach a classic method of Russian propaganda. In particular, in 2016, Russia-related publications did not always support Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and seek to weaken the position of Democrat Hillary Clinton. The main goal was to undermine confidence in the institution of elections, the report notes.

Currently, political posts are spreading information about the age of US President Joe Biden, protests against Washington’s support for Israel, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s publications about Russia and US policy towards it. Such topics may resonate among young audiences in the United States, the document’s authors believe.

A representative of TikTok, commenting on the publication of the Brookings Institution in a conversation with Time magazine, reportedthat the corporation had previously deleted accounts through which influence campaigns were carried out, including 13 groups operating from Russia. TikTok also labels state media accounts and will soon transfer this practice to other resources that carry information about global events outside their country.