TikTok Rolls Out Comment Downvotes to All Users
TikTok has announced that it’s rolling out comment downvotes for all users, as a means to flag inappropriate responses to video clips.
The TikTok’s ‘Thumbs Down’ comment downvote option will be displayed at the far right of each comment, providing a quick and easy way for users to tag such, in order to help TikTok identify negative behaviors in the app.
TikTok’s approach is actually to use the indicator as a means to weed out negative behaviors.
“We’ve started testing a way to let individuals identify comments they believe to be irrelevant or inappropriate.
This community feedback will add to the range of factors we already use to help keep the comment section consistently relevant and a place for genuine engagement.
To avoid creating ill-feeling between community members or demoralize creators, only the person who registered a dislike on a comment will be able to see that they have done so.”
The dislike count will not be public, but will help help TikTok’s moderation team get on top of negative trends, as flagged by its users.
That could also help to limit targeted attacks on people or opinions based on alternative motivations.
The problem with algorithmic trends is that divisive, negative content is amplified via this process, because sparking an emotional response, like anger, drives more people to comment and share. The algorithm then takes as an indicator that more people might want to see it, based on engagement response. The system itself has no way of determining the intent of the content, it only goes on binary signals – which means that triggering more reactions, however you can, is the best way to maximize exposure.
For example:
The general problem with algorithms is they look at the duration of how long you are watching the clip, or how many times you watch the clip as a means of confirming if it is trending content. So even if you do not agree with the content, and may even be shocked to see people being nasty with each other on a platform – the fact that you looked at the whole video or even twice at the video- will amplify the content.
We are so glad that they brought in this feature, but with everything …. there will always be others who will use it to negatively impact other people, like for example competitors marking their competition’s content as inappropriate.
Other news:
TikTok Now invites you and your friends to capture what you’re doing in the moment using your device’s front and back camera. You’ll receive a daily prompt to capture a 10-second video or a static photo to easily share what you’re up to.
