TikTok Algorithm Exposed: Three-Phase Boost for Viral Hits

Source: journals.sagepub.com

The article examines TikTok's recommendation algorithm through controlled experiments, revealing how it prioritizes videos based on immediate user interactions. Authors William Hou and Luca Maria Aiello from IT University of Copenhagen conducted tests with real accounts to measure promotion patterns. Their core finding is that the algorithm rapidly amplifies engaging content via a multi-stage amplification process, which matters because it shapes what goes viral on a platform with 1.5 billion us