Anonymous TikTok accounts backing radical parties before Czech vote, study finds
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Former Czech prime minister and leader of the ANO party, Mr Andrej Babis, attending a campaign rally in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Sept 4.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PRAGUE - Hundreds of anonymous accounts on video-sharing platform TikTok have been increasingly active in spreading pro-Russia narratives and backing radical parties ahead of the Czech Republic’s Oct 3-4 election, a non-governmental group said on Sept 28.
Online Risk Labs, a newly formed group of Czech analysts, said it had identified 286 TikTok accounts that have been boosting each other’s content.
Between them, they have five million to nine million views per week - more than the combined reach of mainstream party leaders, the group said.
“The accounts do not align with a single political entity, but rather demonstrate support for multiple radical and extremist parties simultaneously,” the group said in a statement.
Nearly a quarter of Czechs use TikTok, according to local media reports, a smaller proportion than in Romania, where a presidential election was annulled in 2024
Czech telecoms watchdog CTU said it had received several complaints about hundreds of accounts on TikTok.
“We have found these suggestions relevant and handed them over to the European Commission as the supervisory organ for large platforms,” the CTU told Reuters, adding that it was in contact with TikTok.
TikTok said on Sept 29, without giving details of any cases, that it had been actively cooperating with the CTU, had acted on content or accounts violating policies, and had teams in place to disrupt deceptive behaviour.
The TikTok accounts flagged by Online Risk Labs voiced support for parties including the far-right SPD, running third in most opinion polls with about 13 per cent support, and far-left Stacilo, polling slightly above the 5 per cent threshold to win seats, the group said.
Both parties say the country should leave Nato and the European Union.
Online Risk Labs said candidates promoted in the posts were not necessarily aware of them.
Stacilo said it was not using any fake accounts and denied any foreign influence on its campaign.
The latest polls ahead of the parliamentary election show the opposition ANO party of former Prime Minister Andrej Babis leading by a wide margin over Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s SPOLU centre-right coalition. ANO might need the support of SPD and Stacilo to form a majority. REUTERS
