There isn't even a clear methodology explained (where/when/how where the accounts created, etc) on that NCRI "study".

Even the data is often self contradicting.

All we see is that there's much less political discourse on TikTok than ig.

If there's manipulation, the only thing that this study shows is that the manipulation goes towards avoiding politics in general.

Not only that, but the study itself may show the reverse to be true: that IG pushes some narratives more than others.

There is no evidence whatsoever presented in that paid for NCRI study.

In fact, the same result can be used to interpret as "strong traces of anti-China manipulation on American social medias".