TikTok Executive Debunks Turnover Rumors, Flags AI-Generated Misinformation

ByteDance Group Vice President Li Liang has publicly addressed circulating rumors about TikTok's alleged "7-month average turnover rate," dismissing them as baseless and likely AI-generated misinformation. The claims originated from an article published in the CEIBS Business Review, which Li asserts contains multiple factual inaccuracies.

Chronological Inconsistencies Exposed

In a detailed Weibo post, Li highlighted glaring historical inaccuracies in the source material. The article claimed TikTok launched its "Bai Nian Effect" feature during the 2016 Spring Festival—a chronological impossibility since the platform didn't launch until September 2016.

"This fundamental error alone demonstrates the article's lack of credibility," Li stated. He further clarified that TikTok never missed marketing opportunities due to internal coordination issues, directly contradicting another claim in the disputed piece.

Structural Misrepresentations Corrected

The controversial article also described ByteDance's global operations as divided into 217 "entrepreneurial units" with fewer than 150 employees each—a structure Li vehemently denied.

"At that claimed scale, our total workforce couldn't exceed 32,000," he explained. "Our actual employee count far surpasses this figure." Additional statistics about 35% turnover rates and 45% project survival thresholds were similarly dismissed as fabricated.

Call for AI Content Transparency

Li revealed concerning patterns in the CEIBS Business Review's publication history, noting multiple articles exhibiting hallmarks of AI-generated content about various companies. He urged media outlets to clearly label such material:

"Publications should include disclaimers like 'This is an AI-created article; content may be unreliable' to protect readers from misinformation."

The executive emphasized that while AI tools offer efficiency benefits, their unchecked use in journalism risks eroding public trust through systemic inaccuracy.

Key Points

• 🚫 Turnover claims debunked: The viral "7-month average turnover" statistic lacks factual basis
• 📅 Timeline correction: TikTok launched in September 2016, not during that year's Spring Festival
• 🤖 AI content warning: Media should disclose machine-generated articles to prevent misinformation
• 🔍 Structural accuracy: ByteDance's operational model was misrepresented in source material