TikTok ‘takes 70%’ of donations sent to Syrian refugees via app

Video-sharing app TikTok is taking up to 70 per cent of the donations given for displaced Syrian families in refugee camps begging for money on the social media platform, a BBC investigation has found. According to the report, children in refugee camps spend hours on live streams during which they can earn up to $1,000 an hour. However, the families receive only a tiny fraction of the money.

The BBC visited a camp in north-west Syria, where it saw twelve families working with “TikTok middleman,” Hamid Al-Alwa, who provided the smartphone around the camp. Such middlemen reportedly work with agencies affiliated with TikTok in China and the Middle East. Al-Alwa told the BBC that he helps manage the families’ accounts, but that the value of the gifts sent to the refugees is greatly diminished by the time the cash reaches his bank account.

“If we get a lion as a gift, it’s worth $500,” he explained, referring to an animated lion that appears on a livestreamer’s screen when a hefty donation is delivered. “By the time it reaches the money exchange in Al-Dana, it’s only $155.”

Moreover, the phones are equipped with British sim cards, as Chinese-owned TikTok uses location data which suggests that content and people from Britain are apparently more likely to donate generously.

“We are deeply concerned by the information and allegations brought to us by the BBC, and have taken prompt and rigorous action,” TikTok told the corporation.

However, when the BBC attempted to report accounts that it found were begging, TikTok’s moderators said that there was no violation of its policies. Moreover, the app declined to reveal to the BBC how much it takes from livestream gifts.

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