TikTok is launching an 'Elections Center' to combat midterm misinformation
TikTok is rolling out an "Elections Center" to fight misinformation ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
The Elections Center will connect users with authoritative election information provided by the National Association of Secretaries of State, Ballotpedia, the Center for Democracy in Deaf America, the Federal Voting Assistance Program, the Campus Vote Project, and Restore Your Vote. When users search an election related hashtag on the platform the Elections Center will be the first thing that pops up. This will come in handy as young people are increasingly using TikTok as a search engine.
The Elections Center will also include videos that encourage users to "think critically about the content they see online."
You May Also Like
In addition, TikTok will add labels to content related to the elections, as well as to videos posted by governments, politicians, and political parties in the U.S. These labels will be similar to the one that pops up when a TikTok mentions COVID.
The platform will also be doubling down on its policy to not allow paid political advertising and to prohibit election misinformation. In the second half of 2020, TikTok removed more than 340,000 videos in the U.S. for spreading election misinformation, disinformation, or manipulated media.
Elena is a tech reporter and the resident Gen Z expert at Mashable. She covers TikTok and digital trends. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in American History. Email her at [email protected] or follow her @ecaviar_.
