Osama bin Laden, Antisemitism and a Viral Tweet: Why TikTok Is Facing Its Biggest Threat.

TikTok is facing backlash over allegations that it favors pro-Palestinian and antisemitic content. Lawmakers in Washington have renewed calls to ban the app in the U.S. due to anti-Israel posts and the circulation of a decades-old Osama bin Laden letter on the platform. TikTok executives have responded by meeting with Jewish leaders and celebrities, publishing a post defending their moderation practices, and personally calling a venture capitalist who claimed the app favored pro-Palestinian content. The Chinese-owned app's lobbying operation and its chief communications officer are being tested by this crisis, as TikTok is vulnerable to shifting political winds due to its Chinese parent company. Lawmakers and some Biden administration officials have expressed concerns about the Chinese government potentially using TikTok for spying or propaganda. TikTok executives are unsure if the company can survive if banned in the U.S., as it relies on the American market for ad sales and is banking on a budding U.S. e-commerce business. The platform has struggled to enforce its policies against disinformation, gory content, and propaganda related to the Gaza conflict. TikTok moderators have had difficulty balancing the removal of antisemitic and anti-Muslim content, and the company has faced criticism for its handling of war-related content. TikTok has been accused of promoting pro-Palestinian content to turn American young people against Israel, leading to calls for a ban from politicians and candidates in the GOP presidential primary race. TikTok has responded to these concerns by stating that comparing hashtags is a [Extracted from the article]