Why Are Black People Not Shown In The Algorithm?

Have you seen that cool new dance on TikTok? Or the new trending sound. More than likely, a black person/ a person of color is behind them. For the most part, you would not hear about the creators of these trends, but the ones “chosen” by the algorithm to be the face of these trends. Most of the time, minorities have to work twice as hard to get into certain spaces. Black people are usually at the forefront of many talents on the internet, from the Nae Nae to the Rolly rolly, BET, rap, R&B, and the list goes on. For some reason, it is much harder for black content creators to be pushed on the algorithm. From TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc., most black content creators put more effort into their crafts than their white counterparts. Since Vine, black content creators have pumped out very digestible content. Only a few make it to the very top, where they can live a comfortable lifestyle. Most of the big content creators, when it comes to creator funds, will have to have a side income; if not, they can’t sustain their lifestyle. An example of this phenomenon is. Jalaiah Harmon. Jalaiah was 14 when she started “the Renegade challenge” on TikTok, but for a long time, she didn’t get the credit for its creation. The renegade, which by far is one of the most viral trends on TikTok and was the gateway for certain creators to “blow up,” one of those creators being a 15-year-old content creator from Connecticut, Charli D’Amelio. Who has 157 million followers on TikTok, having way more followers than Jalaiah. Jalaiah first posted the dance on Instagram and made its way to TikTok. The dance blew up, and people started doing it, but no one knew she created it. The one who was pushed was the charlis who watered down the dance. It took Jalaiah having to comment under videos using her dance to get noticed. It came with people bashing her and not believing that she created the dance. The TikTok algorithm is designed to reach people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, races, countries, etc., that can't be said for most black content creators who are faced with shadowbanning banning which limits a user’s visibility without notifying them of the action. A shadowbanned user might continue to post, comment, or engage like anyone else, but their content isn't shown or pushed through the algorithm, or sometimes not one bit. Like explicit bans, shadowbans are hidden, subtle, and often denied by platform companies, making them especially frustrating to detect and prove. Content piracy and credit are a big issue on TikTok and other social media sites. Where one's success depends on how much they are pushed in the algorithm and promoted. Original content is usually what makes an individual stand out. That comes with piracy. Black content creators will post a video, and usually, they are not pushed, but when a white person does the video, it will likely blow up. A 2021 Washington Post survey found that 1 in 3 Black creators said they do not feel supported by TikTok’s algorithm, and many described feeling systematically excluded from opportunities that are available to white creators. This stat shows a problem that Black creators have been voicing for years.