“[The move] is part of our ongoing efforts to protect election integrity and support our community with authoritative information,” TikTok said on its website.
TikTok users would be directed to the guide once they searched for election-related information, viewed relevant videos, and watched live-streaming content, it said.
The company said the guide contained links to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) online resources about the election while MyGoPen provided short videos to tell users how to spot misinformation, verify facts, and report content that violated TikTok’s community guidelines.
All election-related clips also have tags telling people how to get information about the campaign and reminding them to follow TikTok’s community guidelines, verify facts, and report content they believe may violate its policies.
“TikTok has also established a dedicated reporting channel for the CEC and the National Police Agency to flag content they believe may be in breach of any local electoral laws or our community guidelines so that our teams can assess it and apply our policies accordingly,” the company said.
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Taiwan’s presidential front runner Lai Ching-te picks de facto envoy to US as running mate
Taiwan’s presidential front runner Lai Ching-te picks de facto envoy to US as running mate
Taiwanese voters will go to the polls on January 13 to elect the successor to President Tsai Ing-wen, who ends her second – and final – four-year term in May.
The island has faced a flood of disinformation reportedly from mainland China targeting mostly the ruling Democratic Progressive Party government and Vice-President William Lai Ching-te – the DPP front runner in the race.
According to the island’s National Security Bureau, it has tracked at least 1,800 items of disinformation so far this year – up from 1,400 in the same period last year. All of the items came from social media platforms, both in Taiwan and abroad, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Philippines launches TikTok ‘threat assessment’ as it considers partial ban
Philippines launches TikTok ‘threat assessment’ as it considers partial ban
In its statement, TikTok said it prohibited misinformation that might cause harm to individuals or society, regardless of intent.
“This includes misinformation about civic and electoral processes,” it said, adding it had worked with various fact-checking groups in Taiwan to stop the spread of disinformation and banned accounts that might spam or mislead others.
Last year, Taiwan – an informal US ally – followed Washington’s lead in banning it on security grounds from the devices of public sector workers.
The US, like most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but is opposed to any unilateral change in the cross-strait status quo by force.
