Creators Sound Off About The 'New' TikTok -- Here's Why
2026-01-27
Forbes
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Following TikTok's $14B U.S. sale and retraining of its recommendation algorithm on U.S. data, creators report sharp drops in revenue, engagement, and content visibility. The AI-driven changes have led to widespread economic harm, with many creators experiencing unpredictable or negligible earnings and questioning the platform's sustainability.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
TikTok's recommendation algorithm is an AI system that influences content reach and visibility. The article reports that after ownership changes, the algorithm's performance degraded significantly, causing creators' content to receive drastically reduced views and missing analytics data. This has directly harmed creators economically and socially by reducing their ability to monetize and engage audiences, which constitutes harm to communities and individuals. The AI system's malfunction or altered operation is the pivotal factor causing these harms. Hence, this qualifies as an AI Incident under the framework.[AI generated]