Social media platform TikTok has become a haven for displaced families in Syria seeking financial help from the world, but a majority of donations coming to them are being taken by the company.
The company's rules say that users must have 1,000 followers before they can go live, must not directly solicit for gifts and prevent the exploitation of minors on the platform. However, a BBC investigation found that many children go live on a daily basis and seek virtual gifts directly, enabled by TikTok-affiliated middlemen who provide them the tools - and take a cut of the proceeds.
According to the report, TikTok takes anywhere up to 70 per cent of the proceeds the Syrians earn through their soliciting. It reported earnings of up to $1000 an hour but received only a small fraction of it. When the company said it takes "significantly less" than 70 per cent but declined to share the value of the cut, BBC set up an experiment and ran an account of their own to solicit gifts.
Out of the $106 sent to that account by a BBC team in London, they received only $33, barely a third of the money. And when the middlemen and money transfer shop took their cut, they were left with just $19, less than 20 per cent of the worth of the gifts.
Hamid, one of the TikTok middlemen, told the BBC he sold his livestock to pay for a mobile phone, SIM card and wi-fi connection to work with families on TikTok. He broadcasts with 12 different families.
Like the other middlemen, Hamid said he was supported by "live agencies" in China, who work directly with TikTok.
"They help us if we have any problems with the app. They unlock blocked accounts. We give them the name of the page, the profile picture, and they open the account," Hamid told the publication.
The BBC also contacted TikTok influencer and ex-professional rugby player Keith Mason, who had donated $330 during one family's livestream and encouraged his nearly one million followers to do the same. When told that most of these funds were taken by the social media company, he said it was "ridiculous" and "unfair.".
"You've got to have some transparency. To me, that's very greedy. It's greed," he said.
The report said that the BBC contacted many charities in Syria to support displaced families, and while some are working to help them get supplies and the kids an education, most families are still forced to go live on the platform every day.