“Repost” content will soon come to TikTok

TikTok, the social media platform that dethroned Google as the most popular domain of 2021, never once provided a feature that allows users to repost their videos. For a long time, this was the case, but it looks like TikTok is going to change that soon. 

It’s interesting to know that some people are already testing a new “repost” button on the app that lets them repost content they’ve already shared with their followers. As you see below, the repost button has started showing up for “some” on their feeds.

It’s possible for the people you’ve shared the clip with to see that you’ve re-shared it, along with any comments you’ve left on the video.  Because TikTok is experimenting with re-sharing in this way, it’s interesting to see how TikTok is doing it while other social and messaging apps are worried about the negative effects of such on their users.

During the run-up to last year’s US election, for example, Twitter took away the option to just re-tweet a message. This was done to stop people from just re-tweeting political messages and spreading false information. According to Twitter’s data, this method was somewhat successful in encouraging more serious conversation through tweets, while WhatsApp has also set controls to limit the re-distribution of messages within its systems in order to prevent the propagation of viral hoaxes and misinformation about the pandemic.

Because it is now easier to re-distribute postings, there is a greater chance that false information will be spread more broadly, as it is only a few taps away from being done. Adding this feature to more easily re-share does give TikTok more chances to spread misinformation and harmful hoax campaigns. This could be bad because TikTok isn’t known for this kind of thing.  Yet, it’s possible that TikTok merely views this as a way to increase engagement by amplifying videos between friends that they all know would be enjoyed by each other.

As of now, the feature is not available to all users, so TikTok may choose to reverse its decision. However, if you can urge others to re-post your movies, you may be able to increase the re-distribution of your videos even more.