Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds

Users on TikTok gravitate to networks of like-minded people, but right-leaning users tend to be in more tightly sealed echo chambers.

Zicheng Cheng, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications, University of Arizona • conversation
June 26, 2025 ~5 min

What’s happening on RedNote? A media scholar explains the app TikTok users are fleeing to – and the cultural moment unfolding there

A digital media scholar and longtime RedNote user gives a firsthand account of US and Chinese social media users interacting on the app.

Jianqing Chen, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of Film and Media Studies, Washington University in St. Louis • conversation
Jan. 19, 2025 ~10 min


Small Businesses Say US TikTok Ban Would Hurt Them

VOA Learning English • voa
Jan. 8, 2025 ~5 min

The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

Although these activities have been around for decades, there are signs that some are making a comeback.

Paige Williams, Doctoral student in Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University • conversation
Dec. 20, 2024 ~8 min

TikTok Asks Court to Block US Ban, Seeks US Supreme Court Hearing

VOA Learning English • voa
Dec. 11, 2024 ~4 min

Paris Olympics 2024: faster, higher, stronger – and more data-driven

The involvement of AI in the huge organisational beast that is the Olympics was inevitable, but how exactly is it being used, and what does it mean for the future of the Games?

Andy Miah, Chair in Science Communication & Future Media, University of Salford • conversation
Aug. 1, 2024 ~8 min

TikTok law threatening a ban if the app isn’t sold raises First Amendment concerns

The law forcing TikTok to be sold or banned is meant to protect Americans from Chinese government influence and privacy intrusions. But does it undermine a bedrock American principle?

Gautam Hans, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Cornell University • conversation
May 21, 2024 ~8 min

How TikTok’s Technology Makes the Service Popular

VOA Learning English • voa
May 1, 2024 ~6 min


Teens see social media algorithms as accurate reflections of themselves, study finds

Adolescents treat ‘for you’ algorithms as a social mirror and are willing to give up privacy to use it.

Nora McDonald, Assistant Professor of Information Technology, George Mason University • conversation
April 29, 2024 ~9 min

What Happened When India Banned TikTok

VOA Learning English • voa
April 25, 2024 ~4 min

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