By Marie Boran
Technology Reporter
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AI-translated English language clips of Adolf Hitler's speeches have been going viral on TikTok. Paired with popular music genres on the platform, these videos can game the algorithm and draw in millions of views.
The clips of the Nazi party leader, often accompanied by popular music and instrumental beats, have been shared in violation of TikTok's hate speech policies, which explicitly ban the promotion or celebration of individuals responsible for mass violence or the dissemination of hateful ideologies. These translations are in addition to other AI-generated or otherwise altered videos containing excerpts from Hitler's speeches as well as other Nazi-related content.
What's Happening With Hitler Speeches on TikTok?
According to a recent report by watchdog Media Matters, numerous videos featuring AI-translated Hitler speeches have proliferated on TikTok, with one video reaching more than a million views before being removed. Another clip, showing scenic imagery with a Hitler speech overlay, got 270,000 views and sparked disturbing comments such as "AH was a good and kind man" and "this changed my views on him."
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These viral videos often present Hitler's speeches in misleading contexts, with some portraying the dictator as a misunderstood leader who acted only when "forced" during World War II, an obvious distortion of verified historical facts. Some of the content is set to slow, reverberating beats, while others are accompanied by drift phonk music, a popular genre on TikTok.
A similar investigation by Sky News further highlighted the scale of Nazi-related content on TikTok. The investigation, which took place in early September 2024, uncovered more than 50,000 TikTok posts that used audio clips of Nazi speeches, not just from Adolf Hitler but also Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi party.
The investigation highlighted the repurposing of Nazi speeches as TikTok "sounds," a feature that allows users to create videos with shared audio tracks. These audio clips—often set to fast-paced music—are used in thousands of videos, making it easier for users to discover and share them.
Not only were Nazi speeches being widely circulated, found the report, but they were also being attached to seemingly innocuous or trending visual content, obscuring or downplaying the hateful ideology within the content.
A TikTok spokesperson said in response that it has proactively removed more than 1,300 pieces of related content and said that more than 90 percent of the flagged videos were taken down before being reported. Despite these efforts, significant content remains, prompting concerns that the platform's moderation efforts may not be effective enough in combating the viral spread of hate speech.
The social media platform has previously stated it prohibits any form of hateful speech or ideology: "We have a zero-tolerance stance on organized hate groups and those associated with them, like accounts that spread or are linked to white supremacy or nationalism, male supremacy, anti-Semitism, and other hate-based ideologies. We also remove race-based harassment and the denial of violent tragedies, such as the Holocaust and slavery."
A spokesperson for TikTok told Newsweek: "We removed all videos for violating our Community Guidelines and continue to proactively enforce strict rules against hate on an ongoing basis."
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TikTok told Newsweek that the Media Matters report was published weeks ago, and the platform immediately reviewed the report and took action on the content, all of which it says has been removed for violating its community guidelines. The social media platform said that between January and March 2024, of the videos it removed for violating its policies on hate speech and hateful behavior, more than 90 percent were removed proactively before they were reported.
A combination of technology and moderation teams are used to enforce its community guidelines, says TikTok, adding that it has a dedicated audio bank for recalling similar violative audios, which is updated regularly to add new violative sources. The social media platform said it regularly trains its safety professionals to help them better detect hateful behavior, symbols, terms, and offensive stereotypes, and to help identify and protect counter speech.
The Emergence of 'NazTok'
This surge of Nazi-related content is not an isolated incident. A broader network, dubbed "NazTok," has emerged on TikTok. As outlined in a recent report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a UK-based non-profit think tank, this network includes hundreds of accounts dedicated to promoting Nazi ideology, glorifying Hitler and denying the Holocaust.
Despite TikTok's guidelines, these accounts have collectively gained tens of millions of views. Some self-identified Nazis even use the platform for recruitment purposes, urging followers to join off-platform chat groups for more extremist content.
The ISD said that one of its key findings was that "self-identified Nazis discuss TikTok as an amenable platform to spread their ideology which can be used to reach "much more people," even if accounts are brand new or have a low following."
The think tank went on to claim that though it has reported 50 accounts "that violated TikTok's community guidelines around hateful ideologies, promotion of violence, Holocaust denial, and other rules... which collectively received over 6.2 million views," these accounts were still active a day later.
ISD's research shows that TikTok's algorithm plays a significant role in amplifying these accounts. Once a user interacts with far-right content, the algorithm quickly begins recommending more of it, accelerating the spread of extremist views. This networked nature of hate speech content on TikTok has allowed Nazi propaganda to reach mainstream audiences in alarming numbers, the non-profit says.
TikTok is not alone in finding itself host to Nazi-related content and other forms of hate speech or ideology. In 2020, the ISD also found that Holocaust denial content was readily accessible across many major social media platforms, despite content moderation policies in place at the time.
Update on 09/26/2024 at 07:18 a.m.: This story has been updated with comment from a TikTok spokesperson.
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