The Convergence of Anti-Vaccine Content and Alt-Right Extremism: A TikTok Case Study

Abstract

Social media algorithms are driving young people to increasingly extreme political viewpoints. Young people make up a large percentage of those who didn't get the COVID vaccine. Social media has recently been pushing vaccine-hesitant viewers who view wellness and health-related content toward alt-right extremist content. In this study, a TikTok case study found that anti-vaccine content views rapidly led to a proliferation of alt-right video recommendations, raising concerns about how social media algorithms might be contributing to political violence.