"Until last weekend. On Sunday, many TikTok users reported outages and glitches including the inability to upload videos and problems logging into their accounts. Users also noted that their For You Page algorithms had vastly changed and worsened. TikTok USDS, the entity formed to manage the app's U.S. operations, posted a statement on X attributing the issues to "a power outage at one of our U.S. data centers.""
"With minimal "training" (watching and liking videos), I curated the perfect digital space, filled with cute animals, Broadway stars, and countless Heated Rivalryedits. It was my refuge from the horrors, my disassociation drug of choice, and, yes, everything you see on Reels was on TikTok weeks ago, so it was my way of feeling tuned into culture ahead of my friends."
"I don't have a large "following" or reach on TikTok, but I do post for fun. Just that afternoon, I'd put up a video I'd taken at the coast with a version of Taylor Swift's "Out of the Woods" playing underneath-a popular sound that week. No views. No likes. I may be a relative nobody in cyberspace, but I usually get a few hundred views in the first hours after posting."
The TikTok algorithm had quickly curated a personalized feed of cute animals, Broadway stars, and fan edits that served as a refuge and cultural pulse. Last weekend many users reported outages and glitches, including inability to upload and log in, and major changes to For You Page recommendations. TikTok USDS attributed the problems to a power outage at a U.S. data center. The outage's timing with the Alex Pretti shooting and recent transfer to Trump-aligned ownership prompted user suspicions and fear that the app may be changing. Personal feeds began showing more product ads and familiar creators disappeared while new posts received no early views.
Read at Slate Magazine
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