TikTok Steps Up Efforts to Curb Harmful Content Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict

Video-sharing app TikTok is implementing new measures to combat the spread of misinformation, hate speech and incitements to violence relating to the ongoing violent conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The company announced Sunday that it is establishing a command center to coordinate moderation efforts, enhancing its technology to automatically detect graphic content, and hiring more Arabic and Hebrew speakers to review posts.

“We do not tolerate attempts to incite violence or spread hateful ideologies,” TikTok said in a statement. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for content praising violent and hateful organizations and individuals.”

Tensions boiled over on October 7 when Hamas launched a barrage of rocket attacks into Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes on Gaza. As fighting escalated, millions turned to social media platforms like TikTok for updates.

But the conflict has also amplified misinformation online. One recent viral TikTok video promoted false conspiracy theories about the origins of the Hamas rocket attack, garnering over 300,000 views before being taken down.

Such inflammatory and inaccurate content has alarmed policymakers in the European Union. Last week, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton sent letters to TikTok, Twitter, Google and Meta urging more aggressive efforts to comply with the bloc's content moderation laws.

Specifically, Breton advised the platforms to better protect minors from exposure to violent, graphic and extremist content. His letter came after an EU warning that tech companies could face sanctions if they do not stem the tide of misinformation relating to the Israel-Hamas war.

In its Sunday statement, TikTok emphasized its strict policies prohibiting material that glorifies hatred or violence. The company said it has already removed more than 500,000 videos connected to the conflict.

But policing such a vast amount of content across multiple languages presents steep challenges. Videos spreading misinformation or prejudice do not always explicitly violate platform guidelines, making them difficult to detect.

Experts say the Israel-Hamas information war reveals how social media can distort realities on the ground. Images and videos showing suffering on both sides are frequently stripped of context and promoted to advance certain narratives.

“You see things filtered through a specific ideological perspective,” said Ido Yahel, a researcher at the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. “Each side creates its own echo chamber.”

Inflammatory assertions about the conflict have also gone viral on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Critics argue the major platforms need to be more proactive in protecting users from toxic misinformation and violent incitement.

“Social media has empowered extremists to spread hate and misinformation across borders on a massive scale,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. His group found that a relatively small number of accounts spread a disproportionate amount of misleading content about the conflict.

In its statement, TikTok said it is using technology to automatically identify violating accounts and videos. The company also touted its practice of not recommending political content to users.

“Our moderation and policy teams work diligently to quickly remove content, terminate accounts, and partner with experts to make sure TikTok remains a safe space,” the company said.

But some say hiring more human moderators fluent in regional languages and cultural contexts is equally important. Machines often miss nuances that allow toxic misinformation and hate to slip through digital cracks.

“It’s crucial that TikTok ensures content moderation efforts include reviewers familiar with the political and cultural context of this conflict,” said Jacob Berntsson, a researcher at the Tech Policy Institute.

As fighting between Israel and Hamas continues with civilian casualties mounting, the weaponization of social media will likely intensify on all sides.

TikTok and other major platforms insist they are taking aggressive steps to curb manipulative and inflammatory content. But some experts say the online information war surrounding the bloody conflict will only grow harder to moderate.

“The amount of misleading narratives circulating makes content moderation difficult even with good policies in place,” Berntsson said. “This situation underscores the constant struggle for online platforms.”