Popular social media app TikTok has launched a new campaign to tackle misinformation and engage its largely younger user base in the upcoming federal election.
Supported by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), the in-app election guide will promote the importance of enrolling to vote.
It will also provide avenues to report and remove misinformation through a behind-the-scenes review process.
“We will remove misinformation that causes significant harm to individuals, our community, or the larger public regardless of intent, including content that misleads community members about elections or other civic processes,” director of public policy at TikTok Australia and New Zealand Brent Thomas said.
When users search for election-related content or view election-related videos they will be prompted to view the election guide.
The guide will provide information on the election process, including where and how to vote, breaking down the complex preferential voting system.
From the in-app guide, users will also be able to access the AEC website to enrol to vote or check their enrolment status.
“The in-app election guide reflects our ongoing efforts to protect the integrity of our platform and the Australian federal election,” Mr Thomas said.
Fact checking and public service announcements are also part of the new strategy to combat political misinformation known to run rife on social media.
A dedicated election misinformation button will also be available for users to report misleading content.
“Using this election misinformation button will trigger a report to our team who review alerts in accordance with our policies around misinformation,” Mr Thomas said.
Creators will be notified when their video has been found to possibly contain unverified information and users attempting to share the content will be flagged with a warning.
“We’re liaising closely with TikTok and greatly appreciate their collaboration in driving participation in the election process, and on measures designed to preserve election integrity,” AEC director of digital engagement, Evan Ekin-Smyth said.
“We’re excited by TikTok‘s election guide and its potential to be an important resource for the platform’s community.”
According to the AEC, roughly 600,000 eligible Australians are not enrolled to vote – many of who are young people.
