Unfortunately this is a newer theory so studies are limited right now- even studies proving otherwise are inconclusive or nonexistent. I'd love to see more official research put into this or for Tik Tok to release their source code. I don't mean to come across as pushing a political agenda or spreading inconclusive information, but in my experience Tik Tok shows much more toxic content than other short form video platforms. I believe this is why the bill to ban Tik Tok got so much bipartisan support, but they can't release the information about it being a cognitive weapon due to it being classified defense information (I'm sure the US has it's own operations)

Here's a study from a British advocacy group against online hate and misinformation: https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CCDH-Deadly-by-Design_120922.pdf Tik Tok allows content promoting eating disorders: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0267997
Here's the opinion piece that got me onto this tangent: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/25/tiktok-china-cognitive-warfare-us-ban Here's my favorite read, some brainstorming from a few years back by NATO about the future of information warfare: https://www.innovationhub-act.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/20210122_CW%20Final.pdf

I've also seen with my own eyes teenage relatives using Tik Tok and having a video of a gruesome dead cat, self harm or content promoting opioid use being thrown into their For You feeds (otherwise nothing but overstimulating slime videos and sped-up influencer drama).

Even if the current studies are inconclusive, why wouldn't they? They have the organization of the CCP, the short form video format to keep viewers addicted, the data collection technology, the algorithms, and the objective of getting an edge over NATO countries long term.

As for Facebook and Website formerly known as Twitter, their platforms are designed for discussion instead of a video feed. It makes financial sense for them to push controversial content that promotes a reaction- users stay on the site longer and look at more ads. They definitely need to be prosecuted for allowing the 2016 (still ongoing?) Russian Election disinformation campaign so they could churn a profit.