The battle for global public opinion and the shaping of consciousness regarding the current war is not only taking place on university campuses in the West but also on social media networks in the East. In recent months, the Iranian embassy in Beijing has been running a campaign on the Douyin social network—a platform unfamiliar to most Israelis—but well known for its twin—TikTok—both owned by the Chinese company, ByteDance.
Douyin is not familiar to Western users because it is only available in China. Despite this, the network has 750 million daily users—a large audience that can be influenced. As early as October 2023, the Iranian embassy in China launched an aggressive campaign on Douyin, posting war footage, despite the platform’s policy that prohibits users from sharing violent content. Meanwhile, TikTok, its global counterpart, has been removing videos uploaded by supporters of Israel, showing atrocities committed by Hamas in the Israeli communities on the Gaza border. In addition, an antisemitic post published on the Iranian embassy’s account showed missiles landing in Israel, appearing to emerge from the hair of a caricatured woman, characterized by antisemitic stereotypes like an elongated. crooked nose.
The Iranian campaign on Douyin was successful, as Chinese users have recently begun sending virtual gifts, in the form of red envelopes, to the Iranian embassy in China. These virtual gifts are adapted from the traditional Chinese custom of sending red envelopes containing money and well-wishes to loved ones on holidays. The envelopes sent online via Douyin to the Iranian embassy also contained money, but the wishes in this case were less of the “Happy New Year” nature and more of “Please help in sending this one-hundred dollars to Israel in the form of a rocket.” In some cases, the Iranian embassy approved the transfers and accepted the money.
Given that Douyin and TikTok are both owned by the same company, ByteDance, it seems unlikely that Douyin’s turning a blind eye and TikTok’s anti-Israel bias are mere coincidences. While Western countries have limited influence over Douyin, as it operates only in China, they do have leverage over TikTok, and they should use it effectively.
The battle for global public opinion and the shaping of consciousness regarding the current war is not only taking place on university campuses in the West but also on social media networks in the East. In recent months, the Iranian embassy in Beijing has been running a campaign on the Douyin social network—a platform unfamiliar to most Israelis—but well known for its twin—TikTok—both owned by the Chinese company, ByteDance.
Douyin is not familiar to Western users because it is only available in China. Despite this, the network has 750 million daily users—a large audience that can be influenced. As early as October 2023, the Iranian embassy in China launched an aggressive campaign on Douyin, posting war footage, despite the platform’s policy that prohibits users from sharing violent content. Meanwhile, TikTok, its global counterpart, has been removing videos uploaded by supporters of Israel, showing atrocities committed by Hamas in the Israeli communities on the Gaza border. In addition, an antisemitic post published on the Iranian embassy’s account showed missiles landing in Israel, appearing to emerge from the hair of a caricatured woman, characterized by antisemitic stereotypes like an elongated. crooked nose.
The Iranian campaign on Douyin was successful, as Chinese users have recently begun sending virtual gifts, in the form of red envelopes, to the Iranian embassy in China. These virtual gifts are adapted from the traditional Chinese custom of sending red envelopes containing money and well-wishes to loved ones on holidays. The envelopes sent online via Douyin to the Iranian embassy also contained money, but the wishes in this case were less of the “Happy New Year” nature and more of “Please help in sending this one-hundred dollars to Israel in the form of a rocket.” In some cases, the Iranian embassy approved the transfers and accepted the money.
Given that Douyin and TikTok are both owned by the same company, ByteDance, it seems unlikely that Douyin’s turning a blind eye and TikTok’s anti-Israel bias are mere coincidences. While Western countries have limited influence over Douyin, as it operates only in China, they do have leverage over TikTok, and they should use it effectively.