How the Minnesota shooting set off a TikTok censorship debate
Why some TikTok users think the app is censoring Trump-critical content
The Global Story · BBC World Service
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
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