TikTok Should Follow Instagram’s Example
When it comes to blocking and banning trolls.
When I first started on TikTok, all I watched were videos of cats, ADHD, and witches. Then came the Freedom Convoy, and I started seeing countless folks making videos and putting any Alt-Right comments on their feed, to show the world how an idiot these trolls are. Now that I think about it, I realize something I should have told them at the time.
They should have reported those comments to TikTok and blocked them instead of posting them on their videos for the world to see. You have made these trolls famous by posting their comments on the video.
This is something that I have learned myself.
A few years ago, I learned this lesson. I did a podcast about racism in paganism. A year later, I received a racist and sarcastic comment on a podcasting platform (I won’t name it here). I posted this comment on Twitter and Facebook. However, my fans told me not to feed the trolls. So, I took down that post. I also removed that comment from this particular podcasting platform.
There is something else that is alarming.
From watching one of the TikTok regulars that I follow, they mentioned one post, that they suspect is from a troll who is banned, but then creates another account to continue the bullying.
Then I remembered something I had seen on Instagram that should also be on TikTok. Recently, I’ve received spam on that platform. When I report that to Instagram, I can choose to block that account alone, or block that account and all future ones this person or bot creates. I selected the latter one. Why isn’t that option available on TikTok or for that matter, all other social media platforms?
There will be people out there who, once banned, go back to that particular social media platform and create another account. They then continue bullying or stalking others. It is not a good way to protect the victim.
TikTok should also include misinformation in their report. There is a lot of that on the service. They also need to fix the way we report it. As an example, when you click on the bully, you are now on the screen where you are asked who is being bullied. If you are reporting on the stranger’s behalf, I can’t remember their names or their account, but you do want to report their troll.
Social media sites are doing everything they can to regulate their sites. However, it’s very difficult when you have a million users. We, the public, need to be responsible for reporting and blocking these trolls. But they will return in another form. That’s what social media workers must figure out how to do. Once someone gets banned, it is so easy to create another account.
When someone shows you a comment from the Alt-Right community on their TikTok video, you can write to them saying, instead of doing that, just report and block these trolls. Your social media journey will be a lot more enjoyable if you do this.
There is More Than One War Going on Right Now.
In addition, I believe we were already at war before the Ukraine crisis. We’ve been in a cyber war with each other since 2015. Yes, this war began online. I won’t reveal what triggered it. You probably already know. And we must all stop behaving like kids when it comes to this misinformation war. It is time that our government crackdown on what’s going on in the social media space and create some rules around it. It is for online safety and to avoid fighting with each other.
