How the Minnesota shooting set off a TikTok censorship debate

明尼苏达枪击事件如何引发了一场抖音审查辩论

The Global Story

2026-01-29

25 分钟
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Over the weekend, some TikTok users in the United States claimed the social media platform was censoring content critical of the Trump administration. Users reported that they couldn’t upload or view videos related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE. But TikTok disputes that functionality issues were political, attributing them instead to data center outages. The criticism has come to a head after federal agents shot and killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, a US citizen in Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security says the agents fired in self-defence. Though the facts remain muddy, the controversy has exposed how a divided America is reacting to the shooting. For the latest, we speak to BBC Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent Marianna Spring. Producers: Xandra Ellin, Samantha Chantarasak, and Viv Jones Executive producer: China Collins Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins Photo: Teenagers holding smartphones in front of a TikTok logo. September 11, 2025. Credit:Dado Ruvic/Reuters
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  • Over the weekend,

  • some TikTok users here in the United States claimed that the social media platform was censoring content critical of the Trump administration.

  • Major TikTok issue.

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  • The criticism has come to a head after federal agents shot and killed an intensive care nurse,

  • a man by the name of Alex Preddy, a US citizen in Minnesota.

  • The Department of Homeland Security says the agents fired in self defense.