While the labels may provide more information about an account, they aren’t doing much to reduce overall engagement with Russian propaganda on TikTok, suggesting users either don’t see or don’t care about the labels. TikTok announced its labeling effort in March 2022, saying that “in response to the war in Ukraine, we’re expediting the rollout of our state media policy to bring viewers context to evaluate the content they consume on our platform.” Labels have become a common way for social media platforms to designate content from state-controlled media and alert users without removing the content.

More than two-thirds of American teens are on the platform, which is among the world’s most popular websites.

Once known largely for its popularity among teens, TikTok has emerged as a leading source of information - and misinformation. will start a nuclear war, and suggest the U.S. Other videos posted by the account blame the U.S. “US to hold biggest satanic gathering in history,” claims one of the videos on Sputnik.Brasil, a Russian media account currently unlabeled on TikTok. and the international coalition that stands against Russia’s war. The accounts have spread pro-Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine as well as false and misleading claims about the U.S. The labels, which appear in bold immediately below an account’s name, read “Russia state-controlled media.” Clicking on the label brings up more information, including a description that “the government has control over the account’s editorial content.” More than a third of the accounts were unlabeled, despite a labeling policy announced by TikTok a year ago.

Researchers at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan, transatlantic nonprofit operated by the German Marshall Fund that studies authoritarian disinformation, on Thursday published a report that identified nearly 80 TikTok accounts operated by Russian state outlets like RT or Sputnik or by individuals linked to them, including RT’s editor-in-chief. Even when used, labels have little impact on Russia’s ability to exploit TikTok’s powerful algorithms as part of its effort to shape public opinion about the war. It ignores dozens of accounts with millions of followers. WASHINGTON (AP) - A year ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, TikTok started labeling accounts operated by Russian state propaganda agencies as a way to tell users they were being exposed to Kremlin disinformation.Īn analysis a year later shows the policy has been applied inconsistently.

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