Although TikTok is becoming the favorite search engine of young people, the social network is not immune to false information. US investigators sent 20 fake ads to Facebook, tik tok and YouTube about the voting process for the US midterm elections, which will take place on November 8. TikTok approved and distributed 90% of this content. Facebook posted a “significant number,” according to the study.
The ads claimed, for example, that the election results could be hacked or that the result of the vote was already known. Through this experiment, the researchers call on Facebook and TikTok to strengthen your detection false information.
For its part, YouTube was able to detect each ad and even remove the channels used to serve them. The results of this experiment are published in the latest report by Global Witness and the New York University Cybersecurity for Democracy Team.
The networks say they are mobilizing
In response, a Facebook spokesperson said CNN that the tests “were based on a very small sample of ads and are not representative given the number of political ads we review daily around the world.”
A TikTok spokesperson, interviewed by the US media, said for his part that the platform “is a space for authentic and entertaining content, that is why we prohibit and eliminate electoral misinformation and paid political ads from our platform. We welcome feedback from associations. , academics and other experts who help us strengthen our processes and policies”.
Last month, however, TikTok took additional steps to combat fake news in the run-up to the election. The platform in particular prohibits political accounts from raising money.
Source: BFM TV
