Middle East conflict on Tiktok: How German users spread fake news

“Germany is now officially at war,” explains a man in a dark T-shirt with a serious look. Hezbollah attacked a ship off the coast of Lebanon on which Bundeswehr soldiers were stationed. Germany is now officially a party to the war. The man quotes excerpts from an NDR article, but asks rhetorically into the camera: “How can it be that we don’t hear anything about this? Why doesn’t the Chancellor give a speech to the nation?” Apart from NDR, you wouldn’t find anything about it in the media. The fact that Bundeswehr soldiers are already fighting in the Middle East is being strategically concealed – even though the “German people” do not want war.

The video is just one of thousands that can currently be found on Tiktok. In many comments, users express their concern that there will now be a war in Germany – even though the narrative is at least misleading.

The attack actually happened. It is also true that German soldiers were on board the corvette “Oldenburg”, which was allegedly taken under fire by Hezbollah on October 15th. What the man who seems so informed and serious is not saying is that the ship is cruising off the coast of Lebanon as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. The peacekeepers are supposed to monitor the maritime area and help train Lebanese units. It is simply not true that Germany is a party to the war as a result of the attack. There is no connection between Hezbollah attacks on UN peacekeepers and the war between Israel and Hamas. But it is suggested.

German influencers specifically spread conspiracy stories on Tiktok

““It’s a classic phenomenon of spreading disinformation, where the aim is not necessarily to really convince someone of my opinion, but rather to irritate and unsettle people or entire societies,” explains Marcus Bösch in conversation with the star. He is a media scientist at the University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg and researches disinformation campaigns in online media – especially on Tiktok.

It is often not clear at first glance who is actually on the screen spreading “breaking news”. Only when you take a closer look at the profile of these users does it become clear that theyhave little to no expertise in the field of the Middle East conflict. The supposed “news” is constructed, taken out of context or even invented.

Nevertheless, the videos are viewed, liked, shared and commented on thousands of times. This situation is not surprising for Bösch: “It’s about trust – and creators who have been active on the platform for years are on the same level as traditional media in this cosmos, if not higher – even if they don’t initially appear to be experts in a subject area.”

In addition, the approach on Tiktok is rawer, faster and more direct than on other networks, says Bösch. Because of its structure, the platform makes a promise that it can rarely keep: a complex topic like the Middle East conflict should be explained in videos that are usually only between 15 and 60 seconds long.

From declaring the ground offensive to hard-core anti-Semitism in 58 seconds

In most cases, the protagonists look directly into the camera, the editing sequence is quick, supposed “facts” are bombarded at the viewer every second – often so quickly that it is hardly noticeable that an entire argument is based on unsubstantiated claims. Classic patterns of conspiracy theories are used: a spark of truth is twisted and interpreted so much within seconds that a completely new narrative emerges, accompanied by requests to the viewer to “wake up” or “think for themselves”.

An example of this is a video from a user who gave investment tips for cryptocurrencies until the Hamas attack. He begins his clip by saying that Israel’s ground offensive has begun – and promises to explain what this means. He calls this advance an invasion of Israel and claims it is just the beginning. What follows are outrageous explanations of what is currently happening there: Everything has to do with everything else. The Hamas attack was either staged, wanted or even supported by Israel in order to be able to bomb the Gaza Strip. Israel is supposedly led by the US government, which in turn is riddled with Jews who make money from the war and at the same time dream of Israel taking over the entire Middle East and subjugating predominantly Muslim countries. Within 58 seconds, an explanatory video about Israel’s ground offensive develops into hard-core anti-Semitism.

Marcus Bösch: “I wouldn’t underestimate the media skills of young people”

This can be particularly problematic with regard to the very young target group that the app addresses. Even during the Ukraine war, many experts warned that young people between the ages of 12 and 18 could be influenced by propaganda and fake news. Bösch is more cautious here: “I wouldn’t paint it so one-sidedly and wouldn’t underestimate the media competence of young people. They spend a lot of time on the platform and therefore have, at least in part, a certain level of competence as to which information could be correct and which is not.”

But why do so many users on Tiktok share videos that spread half-truths, conspiracies or simply lies? It is important to say that not everyone who shares false information has a malicious intention to deceive per se, perhaps even the opposite, that they want to inform people, said Bösch.

“In science, we differentiate between disinformation and misinformation. Disinformation has a deliberate intention to deceive. With misinformation, I share something that I think the world needs to know – not because I want to deceive anyone, but because I really believe it.” , said the media scientist. A phenomenon that can also be observed in the analogue world: “I’m reminded of any regulars’ get-together: There, too, the wrong things are said. And when a football game takes place, we suddenly have 80 million national coaches – even they don’t have all the expertisethat area.”

It is much less likely that the influencers who spread fake news have a financial interest. Unlike on Instagram or Facebook, it is currently not easily possible on Tiktok to convert the wide reach that videos on the Middle East conflict can achieve into money.

Nevertheless, Tiktok has been criticized for years for not doing enough to combat fake news. “When the Tiktok Germany boss says that 97 percent of all content is deleted before anyone sees it, that sounds very trustworthy, but it cannot be independently verified,” explains Bösch. Many videos, even though they are reported and obviously against the Community guidelines violated, not deleted from Tiktok, that is certainly a shortcoming. There are studies that show that a quarter of all posts on Tiktok contain false information. “I would be“But be careful with these general figures, due to the very individual usage experience of the users,” says Bösch.

Tiktok’s algorithm is as famous as it is infamous. It quickly learns what motivates its users. This can be a problem for very young users because they can be immediately confronted with inappropriate or influencing content. Many teenagers spend several hours a day on the platform – enough time for false reports to have an impact if they are repeatedly flushed into the feed.

Bösch therefore particularly appeals to parents to talk to their children about Tiktok consumption and the content. “If a 13-year-old can use his smartphone for hours without being watched, then there are definitely other problems than the Tiktok algorithm. This shouldn’t be the case in a family. Guardians are required.”