The Reach and Accuracy of Information on Autism on TikTok.
Most viral autism videos on TikTok are wrong—BCBAs must post quick, correct clips to drown them out.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Aragon-Guevara et al. (2025) watched the 100 most-viewed autism videos on TikTok. They scored each clip as accurate, wrong, or over-general. Then they compared likes, shares, and comments between the good and bad clips.
What they found
Seventy-three percent of the top clips were wrong or stretched the truth. Yet the false clips got just as many hearts and shares as the true ones. In short, bad info keeps pace with good info.
How this fits with other research
Fujita (1985) warned that if behavior analysts stay silent, myths will fill the gap. Forty years later, that warning came true on TikTok.
Davison et al. (2005) showed that science rewards flashy results over slow, careful work. TikTok’s algorithm does the same—shocking claims draw eyes, so they spread.
Kelley et al. (2018) argued BCBAs can fix big systems. This study says one system to fix is social media itself.
Why it matters
Families you serve likely saw these clips. Wrong facts can shape what they expect from you. Post short, fun, accurate videos on the same tags. One minute of your time can outrun an hour of myths.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: Although social media platforms have made information about autism more accessible to the general public, concerns have been raised about the unfiltered nature of the content they host. In the current study, we examined the reach and accuracy of videos providing informational content about autism on TikTok, a popular social media platform. METHODS: We examined engagement indicators (including views and "likes") for the TikTok videos associated with the #Autism hashtag. Two coders independently fact-checked informational content of the most viewed videos from the #Autism hashtag videos and coded it as either accurate, inaccurate or 'overgeneralization' based on the consistency of the information in the videos with current knowledge on autism. RESULTS: Videos associated with the "#Autism" hashtag accrued 11.5 billion views collectively. An examination of the top 133 videos providing informational content on autism, which totaled 198.7 million views and 25.2 million likes, showed that 27% of the videos were classified as accurate, while 41% were classified as inaccurate and 32% as overgeneralized. There were no significant differences in engagement between accurate and inaccurate/overgeneralized videos. Videos created by healthcare professionals were more likely to include accurate information. CONCLUSION: The informational content about autism made available on TikTok reaches a wide number of people. Most of the information provided, however, appears to be misaligned with current knowledge. It is important for healthcare providers and other professionals to be aware of the autism-related content being shared on TikTok so that they can better engage with the large community of TikTok users.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1177/07067437221082854