According to a study published by the nonprofit Brookings Institution on Thursday, Russian state-affiliated accounts have significantly increased their presence and engagement on TikTok, the popular short-form video platform, in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election. The report reveals that Russia is increasingly using TikTok to spread Kremlin messages in both English and Spanish, with state-linked accounts posting much more frequently on the platform compared to two years ago.
While these accounts are also active on other social media platforms and have a larger presence on Telegram and X (formerly Twitter), the report highlights that user engagement, such as likes, views, and shares, has been significantly higher on TikTok compared to the other platforms.
This suggests that TikTok provides a growing avenue for Russia’s state-backed information apparatus to reach new, younger audiences.
The study, authored by Valerie Wirtschafter, a Brookings fellow in foreign policy and its artificial intelligence initiative, analyzed data from 70 different state-affiliated accounts. It found that most posts do not focus on U.S. politics but rather on other issues, such as the war in Ukraine and NATO. However, when the posts do address U.S. politics, they tend to feature more divisive topics, such as U.S. policy on Israel and Russia, and questions surrounding President Joe Biden’s age.
In response to the report, a TikTok spokesperson stated that the company has previously removed covert influence operations and eliminated accounts, including 13 networks operating from Russia. The spokesperson also mentioned that TikTok labels state-controlled media accounts and plans to expand this policy in the coming weeks to further address accounts that attempt to reach communities outside their home country on current global events and affairs.
The Brookings report comes in the wake of President Biden signing legislation last month that requires TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a ban in the U.S. The potential ban is expected to face legal challenges.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.