TikTok plans to take prompt action against “exploitative begging” after an investigation found refugees in Syrian camps pleading for digital gifts on the app
BBC Global Disinformation Unit, BBC News Arabic and BBC Eye Investigations — Displaced families in Syrian camps …
Related Coverage
- Bombshell report reveals TikTok is getting rich off live-streaming refugee families begging for help Fortune · Christiaan Hetzner
- TikTok Takes 70% Of Profits From Syrian Refugee Livestream Donations: Report International Business Times · Danielle Ong
Discussion
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@tomgara
Tom Gara
on x
“The middlemen said they worked with agencies affiliated to TikTok in China and the Middle East, who gave the families access to TikTok accounts. These agencies are part of TikTok's global strategy to recruit livestreamers” https://www.bbc.com/...
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@hannah_gelbart
Hannah Gelbart
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Our investigation found children in camps in Syria are begging on TikTok Lives - while TikTok takes 70% of donations given to them. It's taken months of work with @BBCArabic and BBC Eye to shed light on this... here's how we found out 🧵 https://www.bbc.com/...
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@marwasf
@marwasf
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Displaced Syrian families, who live under miserable circumstances, are filmed by middlemen in the camps. The “TikTok middlemen” work with agencies in China and the Middle East affiliated to TikTok. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@catalinagoanta
Catalina Goanta
on x
Microtransactions via tokens are offering new incentives to creators. Streaming makes you tokens on TikTok, Twitch, YouTube and a variation of that exists even on twitter. Remember Twitter tips? https://help.twitter.com/...
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@emily_wight
Emily
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Excellent reporting on something I think speaks to a bigger issue of why in our current moment the public seems to trust big brands more than charities with proper governance structures. Wonder if anyone in the sector will look into this more closely https://www.bbc.com/...
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@carnage4life
Dare Obasanjo
on x
Children in Syrian refugee camps are livestreaming and begging for money. The outrage is that TikTok takes a cut of livestreaming revenue and that adults are exploiting these kids. This is one of those content moderation fiascos that no one predicts. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@tombateman
Tom Bateman
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“The middlemen said they worked with agencies affiliated to TikTok in China and the Middle East... part of TikTok's global strategy to recruit livestreamers and encourage users to spend more time on the app.” @BBCWorld @BBCArabic https://www.bbc.com/...
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@catalinagoanta
Catalina Goanta
on x
I came across quite a few streams like these in the past weeks, but even with a legal mind I never thought of them as ‘exploitative begging’. I find this @BBCNews framing deeply problematic for a number of reasons. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@nimsaw
@nimsaw
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Shocking investigation of how @tiktok_us keeps a 70% commission from earnings of poor families who go live on TikTok via ‘TikTok middlemen’, the providers of phones and internet connection to the displaced families soliciting donations from TikTok users. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@samahhadid
@samahhadid
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Refugee families in Syrian camps are begging for donations on TikTok while the company takes up to 70% of the proceeds, a BBC investigation found. https://www.bbc.com/...
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@mikebutcher
Mike Butcher
on x
Absolutely unbelievable. “Displaced families in Syrian camps are begging for donations on TikTok while the company takes up to 70% of the proceeds, a BBC investigation found.” https://www.bbc.com/...