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.
00:49After 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 to children needs nuance.
01:08At first glance, the feed shown to users under 13 does seem to be dominated by entertaining and comedic posts rather than educational.
01:16Yet, since 2024, the platform has introduced an optional feed providing strictly educational content on science,
01:23technology, 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 content 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 enforced by Xi Jinping's government.
01:42By comparing Douyin's and TikTok's privacy terms, it becomes clear that Douyin operates under stricter rules that promote the Chinese state,
01:51banning content that seriously hurts national sentiments.
01:54One of the best practices that do not have anyitters.
01:55Untertitelung des ZDF, 2020
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