Media journalist Joseph Morong posted a video on TikTok that was seemingly muted as it discussed his experience covering the West Philippine Sea.
Related: INQUIRER.net’s comprehensive coverage on the West Philippine Sea
The caption reads, “MAHIRAP BA MAG-COVER SA WEST PHILIPPINE SEA? How is it like to cover the West Philippine Sea? A glimpse into what is at stake in what others consider a potential flashpoint in geopolitics.”
Upon uploading the video, he noticed that the sound had been muted.
He took to Facebook to share his situation and wrote, “Lols. It doesn’t even have a soundbed. Just my voice but TikTok muted this content on the WPS.”
Social media users in the comments have noticed a pattern and have their own theories as to why content about the West Philippine Sea has been muted or deleted in some cases.
People took to the comments to share their thoughts on the situation.
One user highlighted that the platform has been aggressive in silencing comments and making excuses that this is against their community guidelines.
Another user who posted a comment about China has been deleted but he was able to appeal so it got restored.
Some of them even agree to ban the platform in the country, similar to what is being proposed in the US right now.
This proves that this is not the first time they have done this and that they are clearly targeting people who make comments about China.
TikTok is under the company ByteDance, which was founded in 2012 in Beijing by Zhang Yiming and Liang Rubo.
Shou Chew, the Chief Executive Officer of TikTok, emphasized that ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. However, like most Chinese companies, ByteDance is legally compelled to establish an in-house Communist Party committee composed of employees who are party members.
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