Just so I understand your first point – you're saying that Tik Tok appears to be more authentic because:
1. the format
2. it has a better, younger, denser, more curated pool of content creators
I agree that these are probably true points, but I'm not immediately convinced they're upstream of the feeling of "authenticity." It does seem interesting to me that that's something the "Surgers" called out
You're arguing against something different than what you replied to – it's not necessarily that their wealth rules out their morals, message, or wisdom, it's that their wealth rules out their ability to frame themselves as not part of the "elite."
I'd argue that it's a fairly safe assumption that someone searching for a recipe is interested in finding a recipe, not looking at advertisements. All else being equal I can't imagine that someone would _prefer_ more ads.
1. the format
2. it has a better, younger, denser, more curated pool of content creators
I agree that these are probably true points, but I'm not immediately convinced they're upstream of the feeling of "authenticity." It does seem interesting to me that that's something the "Surgers" called out
edit: formatting