In anticipation of over 2 billion people voting in more than 50 countries including India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Germany, and the USA in 2024, TikTok has intensified its commitment to safeguarding election integrity. The platform, which has already navigated over 150 elections globally in the past four years, aims to ensure a safe, creative, and respectful environment during this significant election period.
Key to TikTok’s strategy is the provision of reliable voting information. Collaborating with electoral commissions and fact-checking bodies, TikTok is set to launch its US Elections Center in partnership with Democracy Works. This initiative will offer accurate voting details to TikTok’s 150 million+ users in the US, covering all 50 states and Washington, DC. The platform plans to guide users to this center via prompts linked to election-related content and searches, with continuous updates including election results.
Another critical aspect of TikTok’s approach is enhancing media literacy. The platform has joined forces with local creators and civil society groups to promote awareness of misinformation. This includes campaigns to identify AI-generated content, reaching millions on TikTok. The platform is also improving features to provide more context about content and accounts, such as verified checks for notable accounts and labels for content flagged by fact-checkers.
Read more: Unlocking Exciting Changes And Opportunities With TikTok’s Creativity Program
Regarding content moderation, TikTok employs thousands of safety professionals and technology to uphold community guidelines. The platform’s strategies against misinformation include partnering with 17 global fact-checking organizations and employing specialized misinformation moderators. TikTok is also vigilant against covert influence operations, with dedicated teams to detect and disrupt deceptive activities, planning to introduce detailed reports on these efforts for greater transparency.
TikTok’s policy against misleading AI-generated content includes prohibiting manipulated content that might mislead, especially involving political endorsements by public figures. Creators must label realistic AI-generated content, supported by TikTok’s unique tools.
The platform also tailors its approach to accounts linked to politicians, political parties, and news organizations. Notably, TikTok does not permit paid political advertising on these accounts. The company applies nuanced enforcement policies to these accounts to protect the public interest, as detailed in their Community Guidelines.
In preparation for the elections, TikTok has consulted over 50 experts and continues to expand its Transparency Center page to provide more information on its fight against misinformation.
