SAN FRANCISCO, California — TikTok on Wednesday said it is testing a feature that would let people add “Footnotes” providing informative context to videos that might be misleading.
The functionality currently under test in the United States, where the short-form video-sharing application boasts approximately 170 million users, closely resembles Community Notes on what was previously known as Twitter but is now called X.
Even so, TikTok plans to keep running its own fact-checking initiative to combat misinformation, according to Head of Operations Adam Mosseri’s statement in a blog post.
Presser stated, “Footnotes will leverage the combined wisdom of the TikTok community by enabling individuals to append pertinent details to material on our platform.”
This will enhance our collection of tools designed to assist individuals in assessing the credibility of information and reaching reliable sources, encompassing features like our content labels, search banners, fact-checking initiatives, and additional resources.
Adult users from the United States who have been active on TikTok for over six months and have not broken any of its rules were offered the chance to sign up to create content for Footnotes.
Contributors will have the ability to evaluate Footnotes left by others as well.
As reported by Presser, footnotes considered “useful” will appear on TikTok. At this stage, users have the opportunity to cast votes providing feedback on their value.
Presser stated, “Regardless of whether the content tackles a complicated STEM-related idea, presents stats that might skew the topic, or provides updates on a current event, extra context could aid others in grasping it more effectively.”
Because of this, we are developing Footnotes.
Footnotes will enhance TikTok’s current integrity efforts, which include tagging information that cannot be confirmed and collaborating with fact-checkers like Agence France-Presse to evaluate the accuracy of posts on the platform.
Earlier this year, Meta terminated its third-party fact-checking initiative in the United States. CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that it resulted in “excessive censorship.”
Zuckerberg mentioned that instead, Meta’s platforms—Facebook and Instagram—would utilize “Community Notes,” akin to those found on Elon Musk’s X platform.
Community Notes serves as a crowdsourced moderation feature that X has advertised as a means for users to provide additional context to posts. However, researchers have consistently raised doubts about its efficacy in tackling misinformation.
Fans of President Donald Trump, along with some others, have argued without evidence that conservative viewpoints were allegedly suppressed or silenced in the name of combating misinformation. This assertion is strongly refuted by professional fact-checkers.
TikTok is adding Footnotes as its China-based parent company ByteDance faces a deadline to sell the app or have it banned in the United States.
Trump has said there was a deal on the sale of TikTok, but tariffs recently imposed by Washington on Beijing derailed it.
ByteDance, while confirming recently that it was in talks with the US government on finding a solution, warned that there remained “key matters” to resolve.