The Affective Algorithms of Conspiracy TikTok

ABSTRACT

The initial optimism about the embedded and everyday integration of social media has, over time, given way to pessimism via the acknowledgment of these platforms’ role in the spread of mis(dis)information and the erosion of democratic ideals. Inspired by emergent accounts of how users encounter, experience, and make sense of algorithms in their everyday lives, we offer an ethnographic investigation into Conspiracy TikTok, tracing the affective flows of mis(dis)information on the platform. Specifically, we highlight our observations on reverse engineering TikTok’s algorithm, the affective pull of conspiracy content, and the critical element of algorithmic personalization.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Throughout the article, we use “mis(dis)information” as a conjunction of both misinformation and disinformation. It is important to note, however, that the two are not the same. The key difference comes from intent. Misinformation is a concept that has a long history of use related to misinforming and the spread of wrong or false information, including information initially presented as true that later turns out to be inaccurate (Lewandowsky et al., 2013). Disinformation, by contrast, is outright false information disseminated for the purposes of propaganda, largely to alienate or disempower others (Southwell et al., 2018). Because we wish to avoid assuming the motivations behind what is created, responded to, shared, and reshared on TikTok, we use mis(dis)information to characterize subject matter that is either intentionally or unintentionally misleading, incorrect, and/or outright conspiratorial.