00:00He's China using TikTok to dumb down European children.
00:07Francis Président Emmanuel Macron recently claimed China is exposing the world to a cognitive war
00:12by keeping TikTok educational for children at home while dumbing it down abroad.
00:30What Macron is referring to is Douyin TikTok's twin app that only serves the Chinese market.
00:36Both are owned by ByteDance, share the same logo, the same concept and the same structure.
00:41To see whether Macron's comment about Douyin's content for children were true,
00:44the Cube used a VPN to download the app and created an account with a 13-year-old user profile.
00:50After scrolling for several minutes, most of the videos suggested in the feed seemed to be educational.
00:54They included clips of chemistry experiments, step-by-step guides to preparing recipes
00:59and even English lessons.
01:01Nevertheless, the suggestion that TikTok in Europe provides no or very little educational material
01:06to children needs nuance.
01:08At first glance, the feed shown to users under 13 does seem to be dominated by entertaining
01:14and comedic posts rather than educational.
01:17Yet, since 2024, the platform has introduced an optional feed providing strictly educational
01:22content on science, technology, engineering and maths tailored specifically for 13-year-olds.
01:28It should also be noted that the other versions of both apps are less regulated and show similar
01:33content which is shaped by the viewer's taste.
01:36Another factor that does lend credence to Macron's claims is the generous social media censorship
01:40enforced by Xi Jinping's government.
01:43By comparing Douyin's and TikTok's privacy terms, it becomes clear that Douyin operates under stricter
01:49rules that promote the Chinese state, banning content that seriously hurts national sentiments.
01:54racco query
01:55unique
01:56living
01:57calculated
01:58to mirror
01:59based on the 3
01:59size of the
02:00house choosing
02:00a
02:03capacity of the
02:05יףs
02:05and
02:06悟い
02:06and
02:07and
02:08light
02:09with
02:10you
02:10say
02:11the
02:12you
02:13我要
02:14here
02:14was
02:16good
02:16to
Comments