The ‘original sounds’ of terrorist leaders: A TikTok feature enables terrorist content to flourish

Research by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) reveals that TikTok's 'original sound' feature allows terrorist propaganda to persist even after original videos are removed. The study found that audio from IS and al-Qaeda ideologues is easily discoverable and often spreads through misleading labels or integration with popular nasheeds, sometimes reaching users who do not appear to support extremist ideologies. Furthermore, the platform's algorithm was found to recommend additional violative content, including neo-Nazi propaganda, to users searching for terrorist material.

• TikTok's 'original sound' feature allows audio from terrorist ideologues to remain on the platform through other users' content even after the original source video is removed for violating community guidelines.
• Between 16-18 June, ISD identified 55 videos featuring al-Qaeda and IS ideologues via simple name searches, totaling over 1.1 million views. Of these, 60 percent used 'original sounds', and an additional 230 videos used that audio to gain 663,793 more views.
• Users spread terrorist content by using innocuous or misleading titles, such as "the speech of truth," to bypass moderation and attract users unaware of the audio's origin.
• Approximately 28 percent of the users (64 individuals) who shared videos using terrorist 'original sounds' showed no other behaviors indicating support for al-Qaeda or IS, suggesting that mislabeling or the use of nasheeds may lead users to share content without knowing its source.
• TikTok's recommendation algorithm may create a 'rabbit hole' effect by serving users who search for terrorist content additional violative material, including videos of accelerationist neo-Nazi terrorists such as the Buffalo and Christchurch mass shooters.

APA

Ayad, M. (2024). The ‘original sounds’ of terrorist leaders: A TikTok feature enables terrorist content to flourish. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-original-sounds-of-terrorist-leaders-a-tiktok-feature-enables-terrorist-content-to-flourish/

Chicago

Ayad, Moustafa. The ‘original sounds’ of terrorist leaders: A TikTok feature enables terrorist content to flourish. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-original-sounds-of-terrorist-leaders-a-tiktok-feature-enables-terrorist-content-to-flourish/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ayad |first1=Moustafa |title=The ‘original sounds’ of terrorist leaders: A TikTok feature enables terrorist content to flourish |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=18 July 2024 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-original-sounds-of-terrorist-leaders-a-tiktok-feature-enables-terrorist-content-to-flourish/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ayad2024original, author = {Ayad, Moustafa}, title = {{The ‘original sounds’ of terrorist leaders: A TikTok feature enables terrorist content to flourish}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/the-original-sounds-of-terrorist-leaders-a-tiktok-feature-enables-terrorist-content-to-flourish/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }