Leaked ‘TikTok Algo 101’ doc exposes ‘sad’ secret to addictive feeds
New York Times by an individual authorized to read it but not share it. The anonymous whistleblower gave it to the publication after becoming disturbed by its revelation that the social media application knowingly pushes users toward “‘sad’ content that could induce self-harm,” the Times’ Ben Smith reported. “The document explains frankly that in the pursuit of the company’s ‘ultimate goal’ of adding daily active users, it has chosen to optimize for two closely related metrics in the stream of videos it serves: ‘retention’ — that is, whether a user comes back — and ‘time spent.’ The app wants to keep you there as long as possible,” wrote Smith.