In the research conducted by the BBC in the past days, it was revealed that TikTok made money through Syrian war victims. According to the BBC, TikTok has made an agreement with Syrian families and begged them to buy gifts over the live broadcast. In fact, the company even receives a large amount of commission for this exploitative begging. So what are the details of the news, has TikTok made a statement on the subject? Let’s take a look at the details of the news together.
TikTok has closed the accounts pointed to by the BBC!
Broadcasting giant BBC launched an investigation on the subject after its research. TikTok, on the other hand, took action right after, shutting down all accounts that were begging and that the BBC pointed to. Making a statement, the social media giant stated that the incident actually violated the community rules. Abusive begging on TikTok violates community guidelines. The company also prohibits children under the age of 18 from receiving gifts.
In the BBC’s report, families displaced and begging in Syria are found through TikTok-affiliated agencies in China and the Middle East. After the accounts reach 1,000 followers, the entire family, including children, is begged over the live broadcast. Consciously begging families collect gifts of up to $1,000 an hour over the live broadcast.
In the report of the BBC, it was stated that TikTok also received a commission from 70 percent of the families that it made begging through live broadcast. TikTok, on the other hand, objected to this part of the report and explained that it actually received very little commission from families. It turned out that the company also provides British SIM cards to families. Because the TikTok algorithm works on geography and the highest gifts are provided by the British.
Following the BBC’s investigation, TikTok also cut off communication with the agencies it found Syrian families. In addition, it removed all content marked as exploitative begging.
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