TikTok has expanded upon its first series of creator-starring safety PSAs, You’re in Control, to launch a new initiative that aims to help users–particularly young users–recognize and combat misinformation on the internet.
Created in partnership with the National Association for Media Literacy Education, aka NAMLE, Be Informed is intended to “encourage people to think critically about what they see–whether in our app or anywhere online,” Kudzi Chikumbu, TikTok’s director of creator community, said in a statement.
The series’ first five installments, which are styled after those unforgettably cheesy ’90s infomercials, star creators @cosette (2.2 million followers), @gabe (2.4 million), @chemteacherphil (2.6 million), @shreksdumpster (2.3 million), @josiah.hughes (1.6 million), @tylerjoe (47.3K), and @hi_im_chewie (one million).
Videos focus on getting viewers to question the sources of information they see, understand their own potential bias and how it influences what they experience, and know the difference between fact and opinion. Videos also ask users to think twice before sharing what might be misinformation, and remind them that they can report suspicious content.
@tiktoktipsLearn helpful guidelines on how to spread information. Don’t unknowingly spread false info! ##tiktoktips♬ original sound – tiktoktips
“In an increasingly digital world, it’s imperative that social media platforms partner with the media literacy education community and adopt a more active role in educating their users on how to engage with and understand the content they encounter as part of their safety measures,” NAMLE executive director Michelle Ciulla Lipkin said in a statement.
All Be Informed videos are available on TikTok’s official Tips account (1.5 million followers).
The series arrives as other platforms, like YouTube and Twitter, have amped up misinformation-busting efforts ahead of the 2020 election. It also comes as TikTok is in hot water with the Trump administration, members of which have repeatedly alleged that TikTok poses a national security and data handling threat because it’s owned by China-based tech giant ByteDance. TikTok has just as repeatedly refuted the claims.
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