TikTok's Algorithmically Directed Me Towards Nazi-Related Products
When I started browsing TikTok Shop, a section of the popular social media platform where users can shop and buy products directly from their favorite creators, I was looking for "hip hop jewelry." The result was not what I expected.
The algorithm repeatedly suggested that I might also be interested in jewelry with blatant Nazi symbolism. Yes, you read that right - Nazis.
I started by searching for "swastika jewelry," which was an innocuous search query many users have likely typed in to find something to wear. However, when I tapped on the product results, TikTok highlighted searches on the next page that were even more explicitly inflammatory.
The web of Nazi-related terms seemed endless. The algorithm suggested I look up products related to "german ww2 necklace," a Star of David pendant, and even phrases like "double lightning bolt necklace" and "ss necklace."
But what was most striking about this experience was how subtle the product results were. Most of them didn't have any obvious Nazi symbolism. Instead, they had symbols that looked similar to swastikas but were less blatant.
A necklace in the product results even had S-like lightning bolts on top of each other, rather than the side-by-side arrangement seen in the "SS" insignia of the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary group that operated in Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
It's hard to say exactly how this web of search terms originated. TikTok has general ideas about how its algorithms work but says that the exact details are opaque.
However, experts believe that the suggested search results could be either the algorithm "working as intended" or "some kind of manipulation" by nefarious users.
For now, it seems like TikTok still needs to do a lot more to protect its users from hate speech and Nazi symbolism in its online shop.
When I started browsing TikTok Shop, a section of the popular social media platform where users can shop and buy products directly from their favorite creators, I was looking for "hip hop jewelry." The result was not what I expected.
The algorithm repeatedly suggested that I might also be interested in jewelry with blatant Nazi symbolism. Yes, you read that right - Nazis.
I started by searching for "swastika jewelry," which was an innocuous search query many users have likely typed in to find something to wear. However, when I tapped on the product results, TikTok highlighted searches on the next page that were even more explicitly inflammatory.
The web of Nazi-related terms seemed endless. The algorithm suggested I look up products related to "german ww2 necklace," a Star of David pendant, and even phrases like "double lightning bolt necklace" and "ss necklace."
But what was most striking about this experience was how subtle the product results were. Most of them didn't have any obvious Nazi symbolism. Instead, they had symbols that looked similar to swastikas but were less blatant.
A necklace in the product results even had S-like lightning bolts on top of each other, rather than the side-by-side arrangement seen in the "SS" insignia of the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary group that operated in Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II.
It's hard to say exactly how this web of search terms originated. TikTok has general ideas about how its algorithms work but says that the exact details are opaque.
However, experts believe that the suggested search results could be either the algorithm "working as intended" or "some kind of manipulation" by nefarious users.
For now, it seems like TikTok still needs to do a lot more to protect its users from hate speech and Nazi symbolism in its online shop.
. It's gotta be super unsettling to stumble upon those kinds of search results, you know? But let's not jump to conclusions here. I mean, we can't just assume that the algorithm is faulty or that someone's messing with it for malicious purposes 
. Maybe it was a weird anomaly and TikTok's got some work to do on fine-tuning their algo 
. It's also possible that there are some... let's say "misinformed" users out there who don't even realize the symbolism behind those designs 
. But, yeah, safety first! More checks needed on hate speech and whatnot 
. Can't have people getting hurt over a necklace with some random S-bolts on it 
.
. I mean, who wants to stumble upon Nazi-themed jewelry while browsing for hip hop bling? It's like the algorithm is trying to ruin the vibe, you know? And it's not just the explicit stuff - even subtle symbols can be super problematic. It's all about the context and intent behind those suggestions. TikTok needs to seriously revamp their shop section and make sure it's not promoting hate or extremism in any way 
. They're basically giving users a reason to cancel their accounts just for shopping 
. I was looking for some sick hip hop jewelry, but the algorithm kept showing me these products with swastika symbols... like, who even searches for that stuff? 
.
. Like, TikTok's got some serious responsibility to ensure their users aren't exposed to hate speech or anything that promotes violence. It's one thing to let users find and engage with content they're interested in, but another thing entirely to actively promote it 
. I mean, can you imagine if your grandma or aunt started finding and buying Nazi-themed jewelry on the platform? 
That's not a good look for anyone 
.
. And what's with the subtle stuff like S-like lightning bolts? That's just creepy 
. I mean, can you even imagine if this was a black market shopping site? The thought alone is giving me nightmares 
. TikTok needs to get its act together ASAP 
.
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It's weird because most of the products didn't have obvious Nazi symbols but had similar-looking things that could be interpreted in bad ways. Like, I saw a necklace with S-shaped lightning bolts on top of each other, it looked super sketchy! 
OMG, can you even believe this?! So I'm trying to find some sick new jewelry on TikTok Shop, and instead the algorithm is taking me down a rabbit hole of NAZI SYMBOLISM 
Like, what's going on? Are the algorithms just broken or is there something more sinister at play? I get that we gotta be careful with hate speech, but come on! It's not even subtle most of the time... And what's up with all these "similar-looking" symbols? That necklace thing was straight weird 
Maybe they can work on filtering out that hate speech and find more relevant content for us. Would love to see them step it up! 
.
either way, it's super concerning and tiktok needs to do more to protect its users 
either way, tiktok needs to step up their game and make sure this doesn't happen again 
.
. It's time for some serious algorithmic cleaning 
.
but at the same time, who knows what's going on behind the scenes 
either way, tiktok needs to step up its game and make sure this doesn't happen again