In the lead-up to Christmas, TikTok recommended a swastika necklace (!?) via TikTok Shop to what appears to be thousands of users. Complaints surfaced quickly. See examples here:
NBC News published a detailed write-up on the incident, noting that TikTok has since removed the product from the seller’s store — though, oddly, the store itself remains live.
Unsurprisingly, users were furious. But from an advertiser perspective, what does this actually mean?
Why This Matters:
That’s the tricky part. We’re not entirely sure it means anything — at least not yet.
In other cases — X being the clearest example — extremist content on social platforms has triggered advertiser pullbacks and boycott calls. Not here. This incident unfolded during the holiday period, and there has been no coordinated advertiser response.
That may also be because TikTok is operating under a different dynamic. The platform appears to be in good standing with the Trump administration following a recent deal to sell its U.S. business, designed at least in part to cast the president in a positive light. Against that backdrop — and amid the broader politicization of media quality — publicly calling out TikTok doesn’t appear to make much sense for advertisers right now.
There’s also a practical question: why wade in when the issue stemmed from a TikTok Shop product and seems squarely on the platform itself? This isn’t a classic ad adjacency or “gotcha” brand safety moment.
Experts React:
Per NBC News:
The advocacy organization Jewish on Campus condemned the listing on social media this week.
“When symbols tied to antisemitism and white supremacy are marketed on a major social platform, the Jewish community is impacted with shock and fear,” the organization wrote in a post. “Swastikas aren’t only a representation of a dark past. They continue to be used against us today. It’s frightening, and it’s unacceptable.”
Our Take:
This feels like part of a broader problem for TikTok: the growing enshitification of the platform, driven, in part, by TikTok Shop. (See our recent piece on TikTok pushing incentivized search to users, as well.)
We’re seeing a flood of low-quality products, along with “Shop slop” — cheap, low-effort content created to push those products and earn a cut of the sale. In that environment, bad recommendations are almost inevitable.
Still, a swastika necklace (!) feels like it should have been an easy one to block/avoid.
