TikTok to launch online election hub to combat misinformation

TikTok has unveiled plans to launch an online election center on the platform as part of an effort to support election integrity in 2024.

The video-sharing site said it expects more than 2 billion people in more than 50 countries to vote this year and that its election center will be used to guide people to credible information.

There are concerns about the potential impact of social media on this year’s election, with artificial intelligence fueling a new wave of misinformation and disinformation in the form of manipulated media and deepfakes.

TikTok said it will launch the Local Elections Hub in the UK in early April ahead of local elections in May, which was created in partnership with fact-checking company Logically Facts.

The online hub will provide users with verified voting information, including when, where and how people vote, as well as links to Electoral Commission resources.

On TikTok, people will be directed to the hub through prompts from relevant election posts or searches.

The company said it plans to build similar centers in other countries around the world, tailored for each election.

In the UK, TikTok said it will also produce a series of educational videos containing logical facts to encourage users to consider the information they consume during the election.

The videos will be shown at election centers.

TikTok said in a blog post discussing the company’s approach to the 2024 election that it is also already making concrete efforts to combat AI-driven misinformation and that this will continue during the election.

“Artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) has brought new challenges to our industry, which we have proactively addressed through strict rules and new technologies,” the company said.

“We don’t allow potentially misleading manipulative content, including AIGC of public figures, if it depicts them supporting a certain political view. We’re also requiring creators to label any realistic AIGC and have launched a first-of-its-kind tool to help people do that.

“Together with 20 other leading technology companies, we recently committed to actively working together to help prevent deceptive AI content from interfering with this year’s elections.

“As technology evolves in 2024, we will continue to improve our policies and detection while working with media literacy content experts to help our community navigate AI responsibly, including working with industry through content source partnerships.”