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 the USA, the corporate mentioned on Wednesday.
The app, which has come beneath fireplace by US lawmakers and the Trump administration over nationwide safety considerations because of its Chinese language possession, mentioned it was working with consultants from the US Division of Homeland Safety to “defend in opposition to overseas affect.”
TikTok mentioned it will broaden partnerships with PolitiFact and Lead Tales to fact-check potential misinformation concerning the election. It should additionally permit customers to report vote-related misinformation on the app, the corporate mentioned in a blog post.
The corporate, which doesn’t permit political promoting and mentioned within the weblog submit 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 mentioned they helped inflate attendance expectations at US President Donald Trump’s June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The massively common app, which permits customers to create quick movies with particular results and music clips, has additionally been used to share false claims corresponding to COVID-19 misinformation.
TikTok mentioned it was including a selected coverage to ban artificial or manipulated content material that misleads customers in a means 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 most recent strikes by TikTok to fight misinformation, a difficulty that main social media corporations together with Facebook 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.
Nonetheless, 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.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
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