TikTok algorithm directs users to fake news about Ukraine war, study says

A new TikTok account can be shown falsehoods about the Ukraine war within minutes of signing up to the app, according to an investigation by anti-misinformation outlet NewsGuard.

A TikTok spokesperson warned that the experiment can only offer limited conclusions about the way the app works in the real world, since it fails to mimic standard view behaviour.

The video-sharing app has had a big increase in content related to the war, with videos tagged #Ukraine receiving more than 30bn views by the end of last week. One report from the New York Times found that, proportionally, Ukraine content on TikTok outpaces that on platforms more than twice its size.