[Commlist] New report - Live-Streaming: Mapping Networks of Influence and (Dis)information Flow

New report - Live-Streaming: Mapping Networks of Influence and 
(Dis)information Flow

https://www.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/SummerSchool2025LiveStreaming

Team Members
Pieter van Boheemen - Post-X Society
Marcus Bösch - University of Münster
Giulia Costanzo - Politecnico di Milano
Tom Divon - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Lea Frühwirth - CeMAS(Center für Monitoring, Analyse und Strategie)
Esther Hammelburg - Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Jonathan Klüser - University of Zurich
Laura Postma - Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision
Edan Ring (remote) - Ben Gurion University of the Negev and ISOC-IL
Nina Steffen - University of Zurich
Xinlu Wang - Tsinghua University

Key findings

This study explores how TikTok Live’s fusion of immediacy, 
interactivity, and monetization creates a powerful infrastructure for 
political communication, one increasingly exploited for extremist 
mobilisation and disinformation. Focusing on far-right actors in 
Germany, it combines technical monitoring, content analysis, and policy 
review to examine how extremist networks exploit the platform’s 
live-streaming affordances to spread propaganda, monetize hate, and 
evade moderation, often in ways that outpace both TikTok’s 
self-regulation and external oversight under the EU’s Digital Services 
Act (DSA).

Extremist networks thrive in TikTok Live’s format. Far-right actors 
blend everyday conversation with extremist messaging, making Nazi 
propaganda feel socially embedded and more challenging to detect.

Coded language evades automated moderation. Dog whistles, symbolic 
references, and algospeak allow harmful narratives, including Holocaust 
praise and Hitler admiration, to circulate without triggering bans.

Monetization directly fuels harmful content. Virtual gifting not only 
sustains these Nazi networks but also provides TikTok with a revenue 
share (50%), effectively profiting from hate speech.

Parasocial intimacy amplifies influence. Live interactions, gifting, and 
features like TikTok’s LIVE Match deepen audience loyalty, encouraging 
and mobilizing participation in extremist communities.

Platform enforcement prioritizes commercial risk. DSA-related moderation 
disproportionately targets TikTok Shop violations over violence, 
harassment, or privacy breaches, signaling a misalignment between stated 
safety priorities and actual practice.

Regulatory transparency is limited. Flaws in the DSA Transparency 
Database and TikTok’s opaque documentation make it difficult for 
researchers and the public to assess how live content is governed.

Live-native moderation remains underdeveloped. Current safety measures 
focus on creator-managed moderation and post-hoc review, leaving a gap 
in real-time detection and intervention for harmful broadcasts.


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