A whole generation is hooked on TikTok. In just a few years, it’s raced ahead of WhatsApp and Instagram to become the biggest app in the world.

But how did it burst into life and overtake its rivals? Delving deep into its upstart origins, TikTok Boom charts the astonishingly rapid rise of China’s viral video app. It yields new insights into its culture, addictive algorithm, and influencer ecosystem. And it reveals the influence its owners in Beijing are having on hundreds of millions worldwide through the use of little-known content guidelines.

TikTok is the emerging battleground for a geopolitical tussle between East and West for control of social media. TikTok Boom is a rollercoaster business story bristling with ambition and drama.

Chris Stokel-Walker is a freelance journalist and regular WIRED contributor. His work has also appeared in New Scientist, the BBC, and The Economist. He is the author of two books: YouTubers, about the rise of YouTube and the creator economy, and TikTok Boom, about how TikTok is shaping the future of social media. He is based in Newcastle.