TikTok’s algorithm amplified videos glorifying war and weapons to users in the Netherlands during a NATO summit this summer – even when they searched for neutral terms, according to a new investigation.
European non-profit AI Forensics used 12 TikTok accounts based in the Netherlands to compare the suggestions on the app’s For You Page (FYP) against search results before and after the June NATO summit meeting in the Hague, which focused on boosting defence spending by allied countries.
The accounts searched for neutral terms such as “nato, nato summit 2025, nato news”. The researchers also watched videos on the For You Page for an hour to see what videos would be suggested by TikTok’s powerful algorithm.
The researchers then analysed the contents of the videos and classified them.
They found that while most content was originally neutral, it quickly became more explicitly about military conflict, war scenarios, and speculation about a third World War.
For example, 40 per cent of the videos on the For You Page showed military and weapons and another 19 per cent dealt with the potential of war.
“The FYP favoured glorified military content and fearful war speculation,” the report said, noting that the recommended videos were less likely to be critical of NATO.
That could have dangerous consequences: “A departure from facts, and a move in the direction of celebratory military and fearful war speculation content, can potentially reinforce war rhetoric,” the report said.
Meanwhile, video search results were more likely to prioritise news about the NATO summit, ongoing conflicts, and NATO military contributions.
About 23 per cent of the search videos showed military and weapons content, 16 per cent contained war speculation, and 5 per cent were about history.
The researchers also found that Iran, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Russia, the Netherlands, Ukraine, and the United States were frequently mentioned in videos from both the For You Page and search.
Dutch users were more likely to see critical videos about Iran, Israel, and Russia and more positive coverage regarding the Palestinian territories and Ukraine, the study found.
The videos were often critical of US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and were more favourable to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte,French President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Overall, the researchers found that there was a pro-NATO stance in both videos on the For You Page and in search results.
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, did not respond to a Euronews Next request for comment on the findings.
The company’s website says that a user’s interactions, such as the content they share, like, or comment on, could inform what is shown on their For You Page. Hashtags, views, and location are also used to personalise users’ feeds.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s search bar takes the same information into account as the For You Page – but that algorithm puts more weight into how relevant the content is to the search term and a user’s previous browsing history.