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The availability of an accurate API is an essential tool for research examining the content and dissemination of messages on large media platforms in the twenty-first century. TikTok launched their research API as part of a commitment to data transparency and a goal of protecting youth and vulnerable populations from harmful content. A systematic audit of TikTok’s API for researchers was performed comparing the API versus information displayed on the TikTok website (i.e., front-end), specifically examining metadata engagement (views, likes, shares, and comments) and assessing the availability of videos. Two research teams with unique access accounts separately audited the API in two distinct contexts: tobacco and elections. Results showed significant discrepancies between the front-end and API metadata for data collected before July 2024. Discrepancies were most severe for view counts, where the API regularly returned values multiple orders of magnitude lower than those displayed on the front-end. Significant discrepancies were found for all four engagement metrics in both datasets. Furthermore, publicly available videos were found in the front-end that were not returned by the API, and errors were found in how the API filters results by account usernames. The implications of these issues for researchers and TikTok’s efforts to support the research community are discussed.
Pearson et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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