TikTok, the popular social media platform owned by ByteDance, announced on Wednesday that it is taking initiative to combat misinformation and covert influence operations in the lead-up to the European Parliament elections scheduled for June.
Kevin Morgan, TikTok's head of trust and safety for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said “TikTok plans to launch local language in-app “election centres” next month for each of the 27 EU countries.
He added“ These tools will be available as of next month to ensure people can “separate fact from fiction.”
"These election centers will be a place where our community can find trusted and authoritative information," he said, collaborating with local electoral commissions and civil society organizations.
The company announced that videos pertaining to the EU elections will be tagged to guide users to their respective country's in-app election center.
The announcement comes amidst growing concerns over the spread of misinformation and the potential influence of AI-generated deepfakes on electoral processes on social media globally by Governments and politicians around the world.
TikTok has taken proactive steps to address these issues, mandating creators to label content generated by artificial intelligence and prohibiting manipulated content that could mislead users, especially in the political sphere.
Morgan disclosed that TikTok, currently partnered with nine fact-checking organizations in Europe, intends to broaden its fact-checking network and initiate nine additional media literacy campaigns this year.
Furthermore, the company will roll out specialised reports on covert influence operations in the coming months to enhance transparency and accountability.
The company will also set up a dedicated “mission control” for the elections at its European headquarters in the Dublin office staffed by specialists from its trust and safety department.
Online platforms with over 45 million monthly average users, including Facebook and TikTok, are required by the EU's new Digital Services Act (DSA) to put policies in place to counteract disinformation and election fraud. These regulations will come into effect universally starting this Saturday, February 17.
With over 50 countries set to conduct national elections in 2024. Tech companies are stepping up their efforts to prevent any interference with these elections, using AI to stop the spread of false information and the production of deepfake photos and videos.
©️ Copyright 2024. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media.
