Copy an idea of Elon Musk

Tiktok is a platform that, well used, can be really entertaining and until we learn something. The problem is that for each piece of useful, original and developed content there are many others With half truths, disinformation, Myths sold as realities, Urban legends and statements based on “Source: Comic Sans”. This content may not have bad intentions and be published from ignorance and ignorance, but that does not mean that it can lead to misunderstandings.

The Tiktok solution? Be inspired by X.

Foot notes. That would be the literal translation of Footnotesthe new function that Tiktok has launched in the United States. It is a data verification system through collective collaboration, or what is the same, the equivalent in Tiktok a X -community notesbefore Twitter.

This will see the notes at the foot of Tiktok | Image: Tiktok

And what is it? Suppose we find a video of a user who states that the earth is flat because one day he went to the beach, He looked forward and couldn’t see the curvature. With this new function, anyone could explain why this argument does not have any meaning and link to any scientific publication, wikipedia or article as a source. In the case of something more controversial or than more interpretation, users could explain the subject, give more context, etc.

Tiktok will use what is known as “Bridging-Based Ranking“, that is, a system that rewards consensus. The note that will be display There is not much discussionbut in more gray issues (politics, events …) there may be a variety of opinions and there is no absolute truth. The idea of Footnotes is, in some way, add context and information respecting the diversity of opinions when proceeding.

Users must sign up for a program to add notes. By adding them, they will have to say the reason why a note deserves, add a comment and put a link to a “reliable source” | Image: Tiktok

Who watches the watchman. With one estimate Of 34 million videos uploaded to day, Tiktok is aware that moderating so much content already such a scale is complex. If we add to that the notes of the community, the thing goes more. Thus, Tiktok says that “we will use a combination of automated and human moderation to help detect and eliminate footnotes that breach the standards.” Users can also report the notes they consider harmful.

At the moment, only in the United States. According to Erica Ruzic, director of integrity and authenticity of Tiktok products “we have chosen the US market because it is large enough to have a content ecosystem that can support this type of test.” There is no intention to launch them in the global market, at least for the moment, although from Tiktok they will evaluate the test and analyze whether it is worth launching it in other markets.

It is, at least, curious that Tiktok has chosen the United States for this test. Tiktok should have left the US market at the beginning of the year having refused to sell their local operations, but Donald Trump has been granted extensions Waiting for a solution. At the moment, everything indicates that Bytedance is working on a version of Tiktok by and for the United States, but nothing is known about it.

Disinformation in Tiktok. The Chinese platform has been several times in the eye of the hurricane. One of the most striking and recent cases was the alleged Russian interference in the Romanian electionscase that is being investigated by the European Union and that forced to cancel and repeat the elections. Although the platform has mechanisms and commitments to curb misinformation, the reality is complex.

The efforts, however, must go in that direction. According to the last European Parliament Youth Survey From the European Union, 42% of young people between 16 and 30 use Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube to access news about politics or social. If we add that, according to the Reuters Digital Institute News Report of 2024 (PDF), 27% of Tiktok users have trouble identifying deceptive content, we get a dangerous cocktail.

Cover image | Collabstr in Unspash