At TikTok's mercy! Staff can pick which video goes viral using a secret 'heating' button

According to a new report from Forbes, TikTok and ByteDance can boost videos to get them onto more feeds, which means that the viral videos on the TikTok For You page are not just there because of the algorithm. There is also a possibility that videos that we see on TikTok as "viral" might not be actually trending earlier but made to trend by showing them continuously on your feed.

Six current and former TikTok and ByteDance employees told Forbes that the social media platform and its parent company can use a feature called "heating" to choose which videos go viral.

Also Read |Why Netherlands wants to close Europe's largest gasfield, Groningen?

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"The heating feature refers to boosting videos into the For You feed through operation intervention to achieve a certain number of video views. The total video views of heated videos account for a large portion of the daily total video views, around 1-2%, which can have a significant impact on overall core metrics", says the MINT Heating Playbook, an internal TikTok document reviewed by Forbes.

Unlike ads and sponsored content on TikTok, heated content isn't labelled as "heated" or anything like that.

According to the TikTok spokesperson, it is expanding its "why this video" feature to provide more specificity and transparency around recommended content.

Watch |TikTok in the US: TikTok's attempts to reassure government, security concerns surrounding the app

"We promote some videos to help diversify the content experience and introduce celebrities and emerging creators to the TikTok community," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to Insider. "Only a few people, based in the US, have the ability to approve content for promotion in the US, and that content makes up approximately .002% of videos in For You feeds".

According to three sources and internal documents reviewed by Forbes, some employees abused the heating feature by boosting their personal accounts or the accounts of people they know, which is against the company policy.

TikTok and ByteDance employees could use the heating feature to "attract influencers," "promote diverse content," "push important information," and promote "relevant videos that were missed by the recommendations algorithms," as well, according to another document reviewed by Forbes. Two sources of Forbes told the publication that employees could decide on their own what content fits the guidelines.

As the company faces pressure from officials concerned that the app could be used as a tool for the Chinese government, ByteDance has faced increasing criticism in the past as well for giving access to its employees.

TikTok is currently blocked on government devices in at least 27 states in the US, as security concerns about the Chinese-owned app grow.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.