TikTok Takes Steps to Curb Misinformation Forward of US Election

Video-sharing app TikTok has up to date its content material insurance policies to curb misinformation on its platform forward of the presidential election in america, the corporate stated on Wednesday.

The app, which has come below hearth by US lawmakers and the Trump administration over nationwide safety issues as a result of its Chinese language possession, stated it was working with specialists from the US Division of Homeland Safety to “defend towards international affect.”

TikTok stated it might broaden partnerships with PolitiFact and Lead Tales to fact-check potential misinformation concerning the election. It’ll additionally permit customers to report vote-related misinformation on the app, the corporate stated in a weblog publish.

The corporate, which doesn’t permit political promoting and stated within the weblog publish it was not the “go-to app to comply with information or politics,” has more and more emerged as a platform for political discourse and activism. Customers not too long ago stated they helped inflate attendance expectations at US President Donald Trump’s June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The massively fashionable app, which permits customers to create brief movies with particular results and music clips, has additionally been used to share false claims akin to COVID-19 misinformation.

TikTok stated it was including a particular coverage to ban artificial or manipulated content material that misleads customers in a approach that would trigger hurt. In current days, a viral doctored video of Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi had unfold throughout social media platforms, together with TikTok.

The adjustments are the newest strikes by TikTok to fight misinformation, a problem that main social media firms together with Fb and Twitter have lengthy struggled to police on their very own platforms.

TikTok proprietor ByteDance is the primary Chinese language firm to attain international success with a shopper app.

Nevertheless, amid rising US-China tensions, the White Home has threatened to ban TikTok and different Chinese language-owned apps, citing nationwide safety dangers.

TikTok at the moment faces a deadline of September 15 to both promote its US operations to Microsoft or face an outright ban.