China-owned TikTok Makes Big Midterm Announcement
(DailyVantage.com) – The midterm elections are quickly approaching, with just under three months to go. The campaign ads are out in full force, leading some social media companies to establish policies about political messages. TikTok recently announced it plans to take new actions to prevent misinformation and divisiveness from permeating its posts.
The Chinese-owned app has a strict no-political ads policy, instituted in 2019. Yet, this hasn’t stopped politicians and candidates from trying to circumvent the rules. They got crafty and hired content influencers with large followings to spread their messages instead. Now, TikTok is addressing that loophole before the midterms arrive.
TikTok to clamp down on paid political posts before midterms https://t.co/dM04bVUJtu pic.twitter.com/gDeF9CcRus
— New York Post (@nypost) August 17, 2022
According to Eric Han, the company’s head of US Safety, internal teams will scour posts for any indication of a paid political message, and the company will create reporting mechanisms for community members to question videos. Upon review, TikTok will remove any posts if it finds them violating its rules.
Social media outlets Facebook and Instagram also have policies in place. The platforms won’t run ads a week before the election. Twitter jumped on the bandwagon, with officials saying the company would review its policies to help curb the spread of misinformation and divisiveness. This remedy could include labels or providing fact checks. Critics point out that Twitter has a known bias against Conservatives and that there’s no telling who will make final content decisions, potentially resulting in more censorship.
How do you feel about social media sites limiting what viewers can see?
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