Simply days after the invoice was signed, rumors floated that ByteDance – the TikTok mum or dad firm – won’t promote and would relatively shut down TikTok within the Land of the Free.
Now, TikTok, regardless of being perceived by many as a harmful instrument for home interference by malicious overseas actors, launches one thing referred to as US Elections Integrity Hub, describing it as:
We’ll be offering steady updates on steps we’re taking to guard TikTok throughout the elections, together with misinformation we’re taking motion on, new media literacy content material, and methods we’re making use of suggestions from specialists, together with our US Elections Integrity Advisory Group.
– Suzy Loftus, Head of USDS Belief & Security, September, 2024
TikTok’s Elections Integrity Hub centralizes the platform’s efforts to uphold the integrity of election-related discussions. The initiative is backed by a workforce of specialists throughout democracy, civil society, safety, and expertise, working to stop misinformation and be sure that customers have entry to dependable info, the corporate claims. The Hub will function updates on TikTok’s insurance policies, a microblog highlighting the platform’s actions, and assets for customers to raised perceive the steps being taken to guard political discourse.
Key parts of the initiative embrace strict insurance policies on election misinformation, which prohibit content material that spreads false or deceptive details about easy methods to vote, register, or the {qualifications} for candidates. To implement these guidelines, TikTok makes use of a mix of AI expertise and human moderation, enhanced by collaboration with 19 fact-checking organizations. Content material that’s unverified will probably be labeled and will have its visibility diminished to stop the unfold of potential misinformation.
The platform’s insurance policies additionally attempt to prohibit covert affect operations and AI-generated content material that misrepresents public figures or creates false endorsements. TikTok has dedicated to labeling AI-generated content material. These efforts goal to curb the misuse of synthetic intelligence in political messaging.
Along with these measures, TikTok has reaffirmed its long-standing prohibition on paid political promoting. Politicians and political events should not allowed to advertise political content material or fundraise on the platform, a coverage the corporate believes is important for sustaining the authenticity and inclusivity of its neighborhood.
At present, we’re increasing the assets obtainable in our US Election Middle, in partnership with nonprofit Democracy Works, to assist our neighborhood entry dependable details about the election. Updates embrace new, detailed voting FAQs from authoritative sources that may assist individuals higher perceive how elections work. And in November, we’ll work with The Related Press to make election outcomes obtainable in our app in actual time.
– Suzy Loftus, Head of USDS Belief & Security, September, 2024
Personally, I feel it is simply finest to be extremely skeptical in terms of these sorts of assurances, guarantees, and commitments. We have seen how social media works, proper? Nicely, there it’s:
