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By Marni Rose McFall
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A post has gone viral on social media claiming that video-sharing app TikTok is blocking anti-Trump content. Here is what we know so far.
Newsweek has reached out to TikTok outside of normal working hours via email for comment, and to the social media accounts Karl Maxxed, Dustin Genereux and Truth Matters via X, and to the account Damien Dread via email.
Why It Matters
On Saturday January 18, the Chinese-owned app stopped working for Americans after a law came into effect banning it on national security grounds.
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TikTok resumed service to its 170 million users in the U.S. shortly after Trump said that he would issue an executive order giving the app a reprieve when he took office. However, it is reportedly not available on the app store.
What To Know
Users are claiming that certain content pertaining to the president is blocked on the app.
A post on X, formerly Twitter, which has received 4.5 million views at the time of reporting, claims that "TikTok is now region locking Americans from looking up things like "fascism" and "Donald Trump rigged election"."
The post includes two screenshots of the TikTok app. The screenshot is of the search page, and in both the search term is "Donald Trump rigged election." The post states that: "On the left are results from a device in America, and on the right are results from one in the UK."
The post on the left shows a results page stating "No results found," while on the left it shows two videos of the President.
Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the veracity of these claims.
A spokesperson for TikTok told Newsweek that its policies and algorithms have not changed.
The spokesperson added that TikTok is currently working to restore U.S. operations back to normal. They said that there may be some temporary instability while services are restored, which could impact some features of, or access to, the app.
However, there are a number of social-media users claiming that TikTok is censoring their anti-Trump content.
A post from an account called Damien Dread stated: "So. uh. anyone else getting this error on the New TikTok? I'm trying to repost a video criticizing Trump for his anti-trans political agenda and it's claiming I am not connected to the internet even though I'm clearly connected and can scroll with no issues …"
The post was accompanied by a screenshot of TikTok which stated that there was no Internet connection.
Another post from the account Truth Matters said: "Whatever happened when TikTok went dark on in the U.S., it seems TikTok have now jumped the red line to the dark side. Resistors are getting content pulled down and the algorithm seems alive to anything overtly anti-Trump."
The Truth Matters post included a TikTok video of a man speaking to camera who said that his videos on the TikTok app which are critical of President Trump were not getting the same viewership or engagement following the TikTok ban, as they had been before.
He also said that he was being served much more content which was pro-President Trump.
Another post from the account Dustin Genereux said that, "Censorship on TikTok is at an all time high with accounts being deleted, posts going back years being flagged, people losing access to the creator fund for saying anything Anti-Trump, MAGA, Elon, etc. But free speech and all that right?"
These reports have not been confirmed at this time, but it is clear that there are increasing concerns about censorship on the TikTok app following its ban and reinstatement.
TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in attendance at Trump's inauguration on Monday, as were other big technology bosses, including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
What People Are Saying
In an emailed statement previously shared with Newsweek, TikTok said that: "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service.
"We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."
President Donald Trump when asked by reporters about the TikTok ban said that: "I may not or may do the deal. TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don't approve it. I learned that from the people that own it.
"If I don't do the deal it's worth nothing, if I do the deal it's worth a trillion dollars. I think the U.S. should get half of TikTok … I think we would have a joint venture. The U.S. should be entitled to get half of TikTok. But if the president doesn't sign, it's worthless. We'll see what happens."
What Happens Next
The President will make a decision on the TikTok ban in the coming days, but the ban will remain law until then. However, TikTok is still accessible in several parts of the U.S.
TikTok users with concerns may find it helpful to look at the apps guidelines for content moderation and the apps Community Guidelines.
Update, 1/21/25, 9:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from a TikTok spokesperson.
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