TikTok has introduced an in-app election guide in an attempt to tackle misinformation. As reported by Engadget, this will provide users with information about candidates, voting and media literacy.
TikTok has, therefore, become the latest social media platform to provide educational voting resources. Facebook announced, earlier this year, that they would create a voting hub. This was designed to encourage users to register as well as providing accurate information about the process.
It is interesting TikTok have taken the time to add such feature to its app given all the uncertainty the company faces. However, after a judge temporarily blocked Trump’s ban on the app it likely had a bit more coherence as to the company’s way forwards.
TikTok’s new election guide is an educational resource largely which the company have designed to stop the spread of misinformation. The company claims the guide will highlight “trusted information about the elections” over the coming weeks.
TikTok adds election guide to curb the spread of misinformation
TikTok says that the guide will “provide easy access to authoritative information as we continue our work to protect against misinformation”. This comes from TikTok’s VP of Public Policy Michael Beckerman.
It many ways it is similar to the voting hub Facebook created earlier this year. It will direct users to information about candidates and also provide information on how to vote in their state.
TikTok’s election guide also adds a layer which aims to tackle misinformation. The company has partnered with MediaWise to surface videos on media literacy and how to spot misinformation.
The guide shows on TikTok’s Discover page and in “election-related” search results. Generally, the guide also features “at the bottom of videos relating to the elections and on videos from verified political accounts”.
Beckerman says this is a “preemptive measure” to try and get users thinking about misinformation more often.
This feature adds to TikTok’s existing measures to combat misinformation. The app has rules banning deepfakes as well as a virtual transparency and accountability centre. The latter designed to help outsiders better understand its policies.
Overall, it is positive to see social media platforms taking more proactive steps to curb misinformation. Whether these steps have much of an impact on the spread of fake news is another issue, however.
Hopefully, this is successful, however, as we have seen from Facebook and Twitter there is still much to be done in order to get a hold on the spread of misinformation.