TikTok commissioned Tātou to engage with their Māori Creator Community. Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, cultural safety, appropriation and sensitivity along with an acknowledgement of Te Reo Māori was something they saw as important and wanted to make sure they got tika (right).

In simple terms this research sought to provide insights from Māori Creators around the following aspects:

•  What’s important to you? How can TikTok support Māori creators on TikTok?’ 
• What are some ways we can celebrate the Māori community on TikTok? Is there anything we've done well and should do more of? What has been missed?
• How can TikTok help foster the Māori creator community? What can we do better?
• What are some things TikTok should avoid when recognising Māori Week/Month (or other key calendar events) - Māori Language Week:

A Māori Hub was created to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and this Art by Eli Taueki, Taane Flanagan, Te Aotahi Rice-Edwards and Hori Mataki (Indigo, Ariki Creative) brought the Māori Creators to the rest of the TikTok Community. The Hub can be seen here.

5 Māori Creators were selected to participate in this research. The importance of each one of these creators was that they would all bring a Te Ao Māori view that was individual to them and their content. 

• @joshkirkley - Astronomy educator by day and TikToker by night. Josh shares his te reo journey; the wins, the challenges, and all the funny bits in-between.
• @manawahine00 - Let Māori game developer and proud supporter of wāhine (women), Morgana, entertain you while she educates on Māori people and their experiences.
• @haukatangi_heta - ⁣⁣Sit back and enjoy hilarious content by TikTok success story, Haukatangi, a creator from the Waikato with a knack for impressions that go viral.
• @tahuhollis - A Māori Creator that brings dance, humour and is authentically Māori.
• @mareriki - Māori Journalist, Taiaha Haka Performer.

A big theme that came through from the pātai asked was that connecting with Māori through their own unique lens was one of the most important aspects of their content. 

Overall the feedback showed appreciation for Tiktok and its cultural awareness for Māori Creators. The sense of tokenism was raised because the Hub came together so quickly and was taken down again once Te  Wiki o Te Reo Māori concluded.  This was an important point that was made in the first session of the Focus Groups. It was clear that the views of Te Ao Māori would be different in relation to the creators who were chosen, however it raised some valid debate and discussion amongst the group. 

All were excited to see what the next steps could be with the Māori Hub and any important events in the Māori Calendar that Tiktok could support in and continue to bring Māori Creators to the table and share their content.

You can click here to see coverage by Te Ao News with interviews by Haukatangi Heta and Morgana Watson and their whakaaro about TikTok, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and the Māori Hub.